Prepared by Messenger Staff
Former Deputy Health Minister Arrested Over 2022 Ambulance Tender
Ilia Ghudushauri, former deputy health minister of Georgia, was arrested on January 27 over allegations of abusing his official authority in connection with a 2022 state procurement tender, the Investigative Service of the Ministry of Finance reported.
According to Guga Tavberidze, deputy head of the Investigative Service, the case concerns a tender announced on September 27, 2022, for the purchase of ambulance vehicles for the Emergency Situations Coordination and Urgent Assistance Center. Three companies submitted bids, with the lowest at GEL 8,523,876.
Tavberidze said Ghudushauri, who chaired the ministry's Procurement Tender Commission, instructed the cancellation of the original tender to favor another company. "On May 10, 2023, at his instruction, a new tender was announced, the terms of which were tailored to one specific bidder, as a result of which other companies were unable to participate," Tavberidze said. The decision led to an unjustified payment of GEL 2,138,196 to the pre-selected company, causing "significant damage to the lawful interests of the state."
The investigation is being conducted under Article 332 of the Criminal Code, which covers abuse of official authority.
UK Citizen Detained and Expelled from Russian-Occupied Abkhazia
De facto security services in Russian-occupied Abkhazia announced that they detained and expelled a UK citizen, Kuldip Singh, accusing him of "involvement in the activities of a foreign intelligence service."
According to the de facto authorities, Singh was allegedly using his connections in the occupied territory to develop a project aimed at obtaining information on populated areas, military facilities, and other infrastructure.
The agency released a video of Singh's interrogation in which he identifies himself in Russian as a 42-year-old UK citizen. He reportedly told authorities that he worked for 13.5 years in the "intelligence unit of the London police" before resigning over corruption. He said he lived in Russia for 10 months, then moved to Georgia, and later entered Abkhazia after learning about the territory online.
In the video, Singh states that he had been teaching English at an "English school" in the occupied region and running a billiards business. He also said his British passport had expired and that he had been unable to obtain documents or a visa to remain there.
De facto authorities said Singh was expelled via the Enguri checkpoint into territory controlled by the Georgian government.
