Columbia, South CarolinaAccording to Civil.ge, a senior member of the opposition United individual Movement (UNM), Lasha Tsanava, has been arrested by the Georgian State Security Service (SSSG) in connection with a suspected visa fraud plot involving a foreign individual.
Alleged Visa Fraud Targeting a Foreign National
Tsanava, a member of the UNM’s political council and close friend of former chair Levan Khabeishvili, is charged with defrauding a foreign individual by claiming that he would obtain a one-year residency visa in Georgia in return for $5,600.
Tsanava obtained a first part of the money in May, according to SSSG official Emzar Gagnidzere, who persisted in pressuring the victim for the remaining sum. According to authorities, he got an additional $2,500 during encounters in late May and mid-June, making the total sum purportedly stolen by deception $2,650.
Secret Surveillance and Legal Charges
According to reports, Tsanava allegedly accepted money and negotiated the deal during covert surveillance activities, which included audio and video recordings. According to Georgia law, the attempted fraud allegation, which includes causing significant financial harm, carries a four- to seven-year jail sentence.
The agency published footage of a man talking to the foreign national about the visa application procedure, with his face blurred. The individual in the video is Tsanava himself, according to officials.
Political Backlash and Claims of Provocation
The opposition has responded strongly to the arrest. Levan Khabeishvili, a longstanding colleague of Tsanava, has denounced the action as a political ploy, alleging that the SSSG entrapped Tsanava using an agent provocateur. “They sent an SSSG agent provocateur to Lasha and used a camera to record him,” he said.
Khabeishvili went on to say that helping foreigners with their paperwork is typical in Georgia’s Justice Hall, suggesting that Tsanava’s activities were no more unusual than those of others in the region.
Concerns about political targeting were echoed by UNM Chair Tinatin Bokuchava, who pointed out that the arrest was made only minutes before her party had planned a press conference. Because of UNM’s growing popularity, Bokuchava charged that the ruling Georgian Dream party was planning a larger campaign against the opposition.
Background on Tsanava and Previous Charges
Tsanava has previously been under legal inquiry. He was accused in 2023 of employing violence to overstep his authority during a 2009 protest dispersal while still a police officer. According to Interpressnews, he has long insisted that the accusations were politically driven and connected to his rift with the Georgian Dream party.
His arrest now contributes to the mounting worries of opposition parties and international observers about the use of Georgia’s legal and security systems for political repression.
Do you think this arrest was made at the wrong time for political reasons or as part of a larger effort to combat visa fraud?Leave a comment at SaludaStandard-Sentinel.com with your thoughts.
