A court has found Vladimir Khundadze, the former deputy head of the Revenue Service (Georgia’s tax and customs agency), guilty of abuse of official authority and sentenced him to one year and six months in prison.
According to the Prosecutor’s Office, the court confirmed that Khundadze maintained a personal acquaintance with Boris Gogichaishvili, who, alongside accomplices, illegally produced and stored counterfeit spirits—namely whiskey and vodka bearing foreign brand trademarks—in the city of Gori.
According to the prosecution’s case, which was upheld by the court, during the first half of 2025, while Khundadze held office overseeing customs control and supervision, Gogichaishvili approached him requesting assistance in the secure importation into Georgia of materials needed for manufacturing alcohol.
“Vladimir Khundadze systematically instructed Boris Gogichaishvili regarding the optimal timing for importing and clearing the goods through customs, and advised him on precisely how to declare the products to avoid scrutiny during customs procedures.
As a result, in the first half of 2025, Gogichaishvili imported without hindrance the supplies necessary for producing alcohol, including specially packaged glass bottles, labels, bottle caps, and other items.
Furthermore, Khundadze was fully aware of the criminal nature of the activities conducted by Gogichaishvili and his associates. Despite this, he failed to take official action and did not report the serious crime to other state authorities,” the Prosecutor’s Office said in a statement.
Vladimir Khundadze and his brother, Koba Khundadze, are associates of Grigol Liluashvili, the former head of the State Security Service. Koba Khundadze is also a defendant in a criminal case, facing charges of laundering illicit income on an especially large scale; he has been released on bail.