The former deputy head of the State Security Service of Georgia has been taken into custody.

A Tbilisi court has remanded Levan Akhobadze, accused of accepting a large bribe for aiding in the smuggling of money from Russia.

As reported by the Caucasian Knot, in December 2025, security forces detained the former head of the Georgian State Security Service, Grigol Liluashvili. He is accused of accepting bribes totaling over $1.3 million. The Tbilisi City Court remanded him in custody..

The Tbilisi City Court has ordered pretrial detention for former Deputy Head of the State Security Service Levan Akhobadze, InterPressNews reported on May 23.

Akhobadze has been charged under Part 3 of Article 338 of the Criminal Code of Georgia (accepting a bribe on an especially large scale), which carries a prison sentence of 11 to 15 years, the publication writes.

Levan Akhobadze was detained on May 22 by officers of the Anti-Corruption Agency. According to a statement from the State Security Service, the case is related to the seizure of 40 million rubles (approximately $431,000) from a private entrepreneur at the Lars checkpoint on the Georgian-Russian border in April 2024. According to the agency, the sum was undeclared and, at the then exchange rate, was approximately 1.16 million lari, JAMnews reported on May 22.

By law, carrying cash worth more than 100,000 lari (approximately $36,200) without declaring it carries a fine of 10% of the amount or confiscation of the entire amount. The State Security Service believes that Levan Akhobadze contacted the businessman through intermediaries and promised to help return the confiscated money.

As a result of negotiations, the businessman paid the 10% fine and received back the money confiscated at customs. After this, according to the State Security Service, Akhobadze demanded 500,000 lari (approximately $181,000) in exchange for assistance.

According to one witness, after the intervention of State Security Service head Grigol Liluashvili, the demanded amount was reduced to 250,000 lari and transferred to an intermediary, who delivered it to Levan Akhobadze in his office that same day, the publication writes.

According to the Anti-Corruption Agency, the businessman who handed the bribe to Akhobadze was involved in smuggling money from Russia. The agency did not name him, Novosti-Gruzia reported on May 22.

Grigol Liluashvili remains in custody. The prosecutor's office believes that he used bribes to patronize illegal businesses, from fraudulent call centers to unscrupulous contractors renovating municipal kindergartens, the publication states.