“Four individuals have been detained, and one person has been charged in criminal cases involving the fraudulent appropriation of large sums of money from citizens,” said Shota Tkeshelashvili, Deputy Prosecutor of Tbilisi, during a briefing at the General Prosecutor’s Office.
According to Tkeshelashvili, an investigation has been launched regarding the tourist company “Smile Travel Georgia,” whose representatives, in 2024-2025, under the pretense of organizing travel abroad, systematically collected and fraudulently appropriated large sums of money from individuals.
“The Department for Combating Fraud at the Prosecutor’s Office of Georgia is handling criminal cases involving the fraudulent appropriation of large sums of money from citizens. Four individuals have been detained, and criminal prosecution has been initiated against one person. The damage caused to citizens by the actions of the accused amounts to up to 3 million GEL.
An investigation conducted by the Ministry of Internal Affairs has established that representatives of the tourist company ‘Smile Travel Georgia,’ in 2024-2025, under the pretense of organizing travel abroad, systematically collected large sums of money and fraudulently appropriated approximately 1 million GEL from nearly 200 victims without fulfilling their obligations.
The investigation into this criminal case is actively ongoing to identify other individuals who were defrauded by the accused, and accordingly, the number of victims and the amount of fraudulently appropriated funds may increase,” Tkeshelashvili stated.
According to Tkeshelashvili, the Department for Combating Fraud, in collaboration with the relevant unit of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, also uncovered a case involving the fraudulent appropriation of 100% ownership rights to a legal entity.
“The investigation has established that the accused promised to resolve financial issues for the representatives of ‘Zekari Springs’ in exchange for transferring ownership shares. To gain trust, the accused partially settled the company’s bank debt using funds fraudulently obtained from another victim and demanded that the partners transfer 100% of the shares. Using this method, the accused transferred the company’s 100% shares to a family member, failing to settle the company’s credit obligations and fraudulently appropriating the 100% ownership. As a result, the owners of the legal entity suffered damages exceeding 1.5 million GEL, and another victim suffered damages of up to 163,000 GEL,” Tkeshelashvili stated.
He further noted that in another criminal case handled by the Department for Combating Fraud, the investigation established that the accused, with the intent to fraudulently appropriate large sums of money, entered into a so-called fictitious contract with a victim for “construction work.” Under the agreement, the victim transferred 123,134 GEL to the accused for specific work. The accused failed to fulfill their formal obligations and appropriated the specified large sum of money.
In these criminal cases, the detained individuals have been charged under Parts 2 and 3 of Article 180 of the Criminal Code of Georgia, which provides for imprisonment of up to 9 years. Based on the prosecutor’s motion, the court imposed detention as a preventive measure for the accused.
“As is known to the public, the Tbilisi Prosecutor’s Office has established a Department for Procedural Guidance in Fraud-Related Criminal Cases. This unit provides procedural guidance to the Tbilisi Police Department’s Fraud Combating Division and supports state prosecution in relevant criminal cases.
We emphasize that ensuring the effective investigation of fraud cases is one of the main priorities of the Prosecutor’s Office of Georgia, and a strict criminal justice policy will be applied to such crimes to protect the legitimate interests of victims,” Tkeshelashvili stated.
Prosecutor’s Office: The investigation has established that ‘Smile Travel Georgia,’ in 2024-2025, fraudulently appropriated up to 1 million GEL from nearly 200 victims under the pretense of organizing travel abroad
