Senior UNM Member Lasha Tsanava Arrested for Alleged Fraud
By Liza Mchedlidze
Thursday, July 31, 2025
The State Security Service of Georgia (SSSG) has arrested Lasha Tsanava, a member of the political council of the opposition United National Movement (UNM), on charges of attempted fraud involving a foreign national.
According to SSSG officials, Tsanava allegedly took money in exchange for promising to secure a one-year residence permit in Georgia. The head of the agency's Anti-Corruption Agency, Emzar Gagnidze, stated during a briefing that Tsanava demanded USD 5,600 and ultimately received USD 2,650 through deceptive means.
"At this stage, the investigation has revealed that L. Ts. [Lasha Tsanava] promised a foreign national a one-year residence permit in Georgia through his connections, in exchange for which he demanded USD 5,600," Gagnidze said. He added that Tsanava received part of the money in May and later pressured the individual to pay the rest.
Gagnidze said that Tsanava met with the foreign national in Tbilisi in late May and mid-June, receiving USD 2,500 during those meetings. The SSSG claims the investigation was supported by covert audio and video surveillance, including footage of a man, allegedly Tsanava, discussing the payment and accepting cash.
Tsanava has been charged with attempted fraud causing substantial damage, an offense that carries a sentence of four to seven years in prison under Georgian law.
The United National Movement has not yet released an official statement. However, several members, including former party chair Levan Khabeishvili, have dismissed the allegations. Khabeishvili, who has worked closely with Tsanava, described the arrest as a provocation.
"They sent the SSSG agent provocateur to Lasha and recorded him with a camera," Khabeishvili said. He claimed that Tsanava may have simply helped a foreign national with paperwork, something "hundreds of people" do near the Justice Hall.
Khabeishvili, known for his frequent predictions about internal conflicts in the ruling Georgian Dream party, has gained credibility among some supporters after several of his claims proved accurate. The arrest of his ally came one day after jailed former President Mikheil Saakashvili alleged that the SSSG was planning a major provocation aimed at discrediting the UNM and its leadership.
Saakashvili warned in a Facebook post that the security service intended to accuse UNM figures of plotting a coup and arrest multiple senior members. UNM Chair Tinatin Bokuchava echoed the warning at a briefing held shortly after the SSSG announced Tsanava's arrest. "The special activation of the SSSG is, of course, linked to UNM's growing ranking," she said.
Tsanava, a former police officer, previously faced charges for exceeding official powers during the June 15, 2009, dispersal of a protest near a police building in Tbilisi. That case, filed 15 years after the incident, was described by Tsanava as politically motivated. He was first questioned in connection to the case in 2015 after reportedly falling out with the Georgian Dream government.
