TBILISI, October 22 – The former president of Georgia’s National Handball Federation, Zurab Kakabadze, has denied charges that he embezzled nearly half a million lari (about USD 175,000) in federation funds while in office, according to his lawyer.
Kakabadze was arrested yesterday by officers from the Prosecutor General’s Office, which accuses him of using his position between 2019 and 2021 to withdraw federation money through multiple ATM transactions using official business cards. Prosecutors allege he misappropriated 464,496 lari, causing significant financial losses to the organization.
The investigation began two years ago following a report by the State Audit Office, which flagged irregularities in the federation’s spending. The case is being handled by the Department for Combating Corruption Crimes, whose head, Malkhaz Kapanadze, announced that prosecutors are seeking pretrial detention for Kakabadze.
Kapanadze said Kakabadze is charged articles of Georgia’s Criminal Code that deal with large-scale embezzlement committed through abuse of official authority, and faces 7 to 11 years in prison if convicted.
However, Kakabadze’s lawyer, Shota Manelidze, told Interpressnews that his client “does not plead guilty” and was cooperating fully with the investigation when unexpectedly detained during what was supposed to be another routine questioning.
“Mr. Zurab had appeared whenever summoned and expressed readiness to cooperate,” Manelidze said. “Yesterday’s arrest was completely unexpected and disproportionate to his behavior. The prosecution had every opportunity to question him further without taking him into custody.”
The defense insists that Kakabadze has “strong legal arguments” to contest the charges and that the prosecution has yet to request any new testimony.
The arrest adds to a growing list of corruption-related probes in Georgia’s sports sector, which has come under increased scrutiny from state auditors over the use of public and federation funds.
Kakabadze, who led the federation for two years, remains in custody pending a court hearing on whether he will be released or held in pretrial detention.
