President Vows to Crackdown on Corrupt Officials Amid Arrest of MP

President Saakashvili said on May 19th, that MP Giorgi Kenchadze of the ruling National Movement-Democrats party, who was arrested for alleged extortion, “will be severely punished.”

President Saakashvili said that MP Kenchadze demanded USD 100,000 from Adjarian businessman and issued threats that the General Prosecutor’s Office would probe his business if the money was not paid.

Officials say that Mr. Kenchadze, 33, was arrested at the exact moment of a money handover by an Adjarian businessman, whose identity was not disclosed.

Mikheil Saakashvili asked the businessmen to appeal to law enforcement agencies in cases of racketeering. “We will not tolerate the extortion and punish the guilty in the most severe way, especially if they are officials,” the President added.

“The fact that he [MP Kenchadze] is a member of the National Movement is very disappointing, but we will arrest and punish everyone who is suspected in crimal dealings, regardless of their position,” President Saakashvili said at a news briefing.

“The case of MP Kenchadze must be an example for every official,” he added.
 
He said that the arrest of Kenchadze is the first case since Georgia gained independence wherein an MP was arrested for corruption charges. “Everyone should understand that Georgia has another government and another President, different from the previous one,” Saakashvili said.

The General Prosecutor’s Office has already appealed to the Parliament to lift MP immunity from Giorgi Kenchadze.

On May 19th, the Parliamentary Committee for Procedural Issues gave its go-ahead to discuss the issue of lifting immunity from Kenchadze at the parliamentary session on May 20th.