Seven individuals detained on charges of illegal production of alcohol and untaxed cigarettes by an organized group, including former boxer and businessman Giorgi Kandelaki and Gori City Council member Boris Gogichaishvili, aged 67, have been ordered to remain in custody as a preventive measure.
This decision was made by Judge Teona Epitashvili of the Tbilisi City Court.
At today’s hearing, the court deliberated on imposing preventive measures for the detained individuals.
The prosecution requested the strictest form of preventive measure – imprisonment – for all seven individuals, while the defense sought their release on bail.
As prosecutor Giorgi Javrashvili noted, the accused face severe penalties, which could lead them to attempt to flee. Accordingly, Javrashvili cited grounds for imposing imprisonment as a preventive measure for all individuals, including the risk of committing new crimes, destroying evidence, and absconding.
The defense disagreed with the decision. The lawyers requested the release of their clients on bail in various amounts – 5,000, 20,000, 30,000, 50,000, and 100,000 GEL – along with additional restrictive measures.
For reference, the Investigation Service of the Ministry of Finance seized 75,137 bottles of alcoholic beverages and 318,000 packs of untaxed cigarettes, in connection with which seven individuals, including Giorgi Kandelaki, were detained. They were charged under Articles 200 (parts 3 and 4) of the Criminal Code (production and storage of excisable goods subject to mandatory marking without an excise stamp by an organized group in particularly large quantities) and Article 196 (part 3) (production of goods illegally marked with another’s trademark or registered trade name in large quantities), which carry penalties of seven to ten years of imprisonment.
According to the investigation, since 2022, the accused, with the intent of illegally obtaining financial benefits, formed an organized criminal group.
They had set up infrastructure and full technical equipment for committing the crime on a leased plot of land in the city of Gori, where they systematically produced and stored alcoholic beverages – whiskey and arak – subject to mandatory excise marking without excise stamps, for the purpose of their subsequent sale.
The detained individuals are: Giorgi Kandelaki, Boris Gogichaishvili, Tengiz Gulordava, Aleko Kurtanidze, Kartlos Jalabadze, Giorgi Bibilashvili, and Giorgi Kavtaradze.
Seven individuals detained on charges of illegal alcohol production, including Giorgi Kandelaki and Gori City Council member Boris Gogichaishvili, have been ordered to remain in custody as a preventive measure
