TBILISI, September 21 – Police in Georgia’s Black Sea region of Adjara have arrested four people accused of running an organized fraud scheme that tricked citizens out of nearly half a million lari.
According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the group targeted people in Batumi interested in securing loans with property as collateral. Investigators say the suspects convinced victims they had the right to mortgage specific real estate and temporarily transfer it for use. After gaining trust, they pocketed the money.
Authorities say the group swindled 16 citizens out of 461,306 lari (about USD 170,000). The suspects were arrested following a court order.
Prosecutors say the four deliberately formed a criminal group, assigned roles among themselves, and carried out repeated scams for financial gain.
The arrests followed a series of coordinated investigative and operational measures by the Adjara Police Department and Batumi city police.
The suspects are charged under Georgia’s criminal code for large-scale fraud committed by an organized group, an offense punishable by up to 10 years in prison.
