Statement of the General Inspection
The General Inspection of the Ministry of Education and Science of Georgia and the Investigative Service of the Ministry of Finance of Georgia have uncovered facts of bribery committed by school directors. The detained individuals are the directors of the public schools in the villages of Gori district: Flavismanis, Nikozi, and Garejvaris – Giorgi Khareli, Marine Tharashvili, Mikheil Bibilashvili, and the head of operations of the Garejvari school, Sopio Chalauri.
The aforementioned individuals entered into a criminal conspiracy with an individual entrepreneur regarding the supply of firewood for heating public schools. According to the agreement, the defendants would purchase firewood from the entrepreneur's workshop and transfer an amount exceeding the value of the firewood from the school's account to his personal account, after which the excessively transferred amount would be returned as a bribe.
Law enforcement officers detained the defendants at the scene of the crime; the amount of damage caused to the state budget will be determined by the investigation. The investigation is underway under the first part of Article 338 of the Criminal Code, which provides for imprisonment for a term of 6 to 9 years.
The General Inspection of the Ministry of Education and Science of Georgia does and will continue to do everything possible to ensure that the education system in Georgia remains one of the least corrupted.
The Ministry will not tolerate the misappropriation of funds intended for children, and anyone who attempts to engage in a corrupt deal will be severely punished.
We would like to inform you that this year the Ministry has increased the voucher funding of schools by 40 million GEL, and there are no schools facing deficits; schools are provided with quarterly funding in advance. All schools have the financial resources to conduct the educational process smoothly and properly. School boards of trustees can actively participate and monitor the expenditure side of school budgets.
The aforementioned individuals entered into a criminal conspiracy with an individual entrepreneur regarding the supply of firewood for heating public schools. According to the agreement, the defendants would purchase firewood from the entrepreneur's workshop and transfer an amount exceeding the value of the firewood from the school's account to his personal account, after which the excessively transferred amount would be returned as a bribe.
Law enforcement officers detained the defendants at the scene of the crime; the amount of damage caused to the state budget will be determined by the investigation. The investigation is underway under the first part of Article 338 of the Criminal Code, which provides for imprisonment for a term of 6 to 9 years.
The General Inspection of the Ministry of Education and Science of Georgia does and will continue to do everything possible to ensure that the education system in Georgia remains one of the least corrupted.
The Ministry will not tolerate the misappropriation of funds intended for children, and anyone who attempts to engage in a corrupt deal will be severely punished.
We would like to inform you that this year the Ministry has increased the voucher funding of schools by 40 million GEL, and there are no schools facing deficits; schools are provided with quarterly funding in advance. All schools have the financial resources to conduct the educational process smoothly and properly. School boards of trustees can actively participate and monitor the expenditure side of school budgets.
