The symbolic arrest of Bajelidze

George Kalatozishvili, Tbilisi. Exclusively for Vestnik Kavkaza

Tbilisi City Court sentenced George Bajelidze, Head of Procurement Department of the economic and financial department of the MIA. The arrest of Bajelidze became a sensation. Firstly, we are talking about a high-ranking MIA official, not just a John Doe from some "economic ministry" Secondly, the officials of that rank have not been arrested on corruption charges for quite a long time. Bajelidze being accused of committing a crime of corruption was confirmed by the spokesperson Nino Giorgobiani, but she refused to answer the question what exactly he is suspected of.

Rumors immediately filled Tbilisi. Some experts have come to a strange conclusion: Bajelidze is allegedly accused of having bought expensive furniture, cars and computers for the officials of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Shortly before his arrest, there was a scandal related to public procurement: journalists found that the new National Security Council secretary Irina Imerlishvili had bought a new Toyota Land Cruiser, as well as an iPad and iPhone 5 at public expense. But the Prime Minister Garibashvili rebuked the official, saying he did not see anything bad "in computerization." Judging by this comment, the version that George Bajelidze was allegedly arrested for buying luxury goods for bureaucrats is not tenable. He could buy something only on the instructions of superiors, and if there are no claims against them, what can they ask the "head of procurement"?

However, Bajelidze was caught being bribed in the course of these operations. According to Vestnik Kavkaza, the charges are not about the public procurement of luxury goods, but about Bajelidze being suspected of receiving kickbacks from a major deal related to the purchase of furniture. This information is confirmed by several sources and suggests that corruption in its classical form comes back to Georgia.

Georgian officials have not been accused of kickbacks for a long time - President Saakashvili and his team burned bribery "with hot iron" at the grassroots and average levels of the authorities pyramid. Innumerable police officers were jailed for 8-9 years shortly after the "Rose Revolution" for a 20-dollar bribe. Fearing provocations, officials were afraid of the very thought of kickbacks, because any briber could be a secret agent of the security services and have a miniature video camera on their chest.

Another thing is elite corruption, i.e. the "protection" of big business by the ruling elite. Just one example would be enough here: former Defense Minister David Kezerashvili, who came to power after the "Rose Revolution" at the age of 23, after retiring, was suddenly a business owner with an annual turnover of a billion dollars!

But the fact is for ordinary citizens, it is easier to notice daily corruption than entire sectors of the economy being controlled by the big "sharks". Therefore, the case with Bajelidze that occurred during the retreat from the "rigidities of the Saakashvili regime", became a symbol of the return of "the good old days under Shevardnadze" when kickbacks and bribes were requisite for any interaction with the state, from a tender for purchase of chairs for a school canteen to the most insignificant certificate.