UK Sanctions Two Influential Georgian Judges For Alleged Corruption

The U.K. has sanctioned two influential Georgian judges on suspicion of “serious corruption” allegedly favoring Georgia’s ruling party. 

Mikheil Chinchaladze, 46, and Levan Murusidze, 50, have been hit on Wednesday with asset freezes under the U.K.’s global anti-corruption sanctions regime.

In a statement, the U.K. government accused the pair of belonging to a “group of party-political judges who are abusing their position to influence court rulings and undermine the rule of law for the benefit of the ‘Georgian Dream’ party and their control of the judicial system.”

According to the official sanctions designation, Chinchaladze and Murusidze allegedly took financial rewards and other benefits to “improperly” assert their influence in support of Georgian Dream. Among the alleged inducements were lifetime appointments to the Tbilisi Appeal Court, which Chinchaladze chairs.

Georgian transparency groups have long accused Chinchaladze and Murusidze of being part of a powerful group of judges known as “the clan,” who wield outsized influence over the country’s judiciary.

Speaking to the Georgian TV channel Formula, Murusidze denied the allegations: “What corruption? In Georgia, for 30 years, it seems Great Britain has been so troubled by Levan Murusidze's corruption that... what corruption? Is there no one wealthier than me in Georgia?”

Murusidze added that the U.K. sanctions reflected “global political goals” against Georgia, saying they “won’t have much of an impact” for him financially but were “not pleasant” reputationally.

OCCRP and its Georgian partner, Studio Monitori, have previously published investigations into Murusidze and Chinchaladze’s unexplained wealth. 

In 2019, Studio Monitori revealed that Chinchaladze had failed to declare significant real estate holdings registered to his aunt.

In 2022, OCCRP and Studio Monitori reported that Murusidze had failed to disclose assets belonging to his long-term romantic partner in his official declaration, including real estate, expensive jewelry, and designer clothes. The spending far exceeded the couple’s declared salaries, raising questions about the source of their wealth.

In a Facebook post, Tamta Kakhidze, a lawyer at Transparency International Georgia, welcomed the U.K. sanctions: “Today, the power of [Georgian] Dream stands on several pillars. One of the main ones is definitely the judiciary.”

“The clan is not under the vertical power of [Georgian] Dream; these two have their own centers of power in the country, but they cooperate excellently with each other,” she added.

The U.K. is not the first country to sanction Chinchaladze and Murusidze. 

In 2023, the U.S. State Department imposed entry bans on the pair for alleged corruption, together with two other Georgian judges. And late last year, Lithuania’s foreign ministry also imposed temporary entry bans on Chinchaladze and Murusidze.

In December, London and Washington “coordinated” sanctions against Georgia’s interior minister and other officials for their roles in violently suppressing anti-government protests.