New Details in the Case of Former Senior Officials of Agriculture Ministry

Tamta Tvalavadze

Counter-corruption agency of the MIA arrested nine senior officials of the Agriculture Ministry and deputy director of the Ltd Mechanizatori Mamuka Ivaniadze for the waste of budget funds, professional negligence and oppression on experts; investigation freed four of the detainees under bail. On July 11, Mamuka Ivaniadze held press-conference and stated that prosecutor Giorgi Davitashvili had compelled him under psychological oppression to make testimony against the former minister of agriculture Davit Kirvalidze. After the press-conference, prosecutor’s office launched investigation into the case on the oppression on Ivaniadze.

On July 22, representatives of the Chief Prosecutor’s Office stated at the briefing: “In the case of tractor purchase, Mamuka Ivaniadze gave testimony to the investigation without any oppression, independently, according to his own wish. Every factual circumstances mentioned in his testimony are relevant to reality.”

According to the Chief Prosecutor’s Office, Ivaniadze personally initiated to expose criminals. To prove that, on July 22, prosecutor’s office published secret video-recording of Ivaniadze’s interrogation. Chairman of the Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association stated it should be estimated whether the investigation held court permission to make secret video-recording of the interrogation as it is requested by the Criminal Procedural Code.

Chief Prosecutor’s Office opposed accusations on the legality of publishing secret video-recording and stated: “Video-recording was conducted in accordance to the Georgian law and the actions taken in the frame of the investigation full meet the requirements of the Procedural Law.”

After the video-recording was published, Mamuka Ivaniadze and former agriculture minister Davit Kirvalidze were called to the repeated interrogation; they did not make comments with media due to investigation interests.

Mamuka Ivaniadze was detained on May 1, 2013 together with other senior officials of the Ministry of Agriculture. The case was launched into the waste of large amount of state funds, professional negligence and oppression on experts. On July 2, Ivaniadze was freed under bail of 10 000 GEL.