Otar Partskhaladze Charged with Organizing Murder of Businessman Levan Jangveladze

At a briefing on December 29, Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs of the Georgian Dream, Aleksandre Darakhvelidze, stated that "evidence obtained as a result of hundreds of investigative activities conducted by employees of the Ministry of Internal Affairs has established who led the organized group that committed the premeditated murder of Levan Jangveladze on his orders and for his own benefit".

“We can declare the aforementioned criminal case fully solved in this regard.

Based on the evidence we have obtained, the Prosecutor General's Office of Georgia has issued a resolution to bring Otar Romanov Partskhaladze to justice as an accused person.

The investigation established that a group of individuals who had formed a criminal group over time, and the leaders of this group, Otar Romanov Partskhaladze and his trusted persons - brothers David and Giorgi Mikadze, had a disagreement and conflict with Levan Jangveladze regarding business activities and, on the orders of other individuals who had been in a long-standing conflict with the latter, organized the murder of Levan Jangveladze.

The premeditated murder of Levan Jangveladze was led by Otar Romanov Partskhaladze, as the unconditional leader of the created criminal group. On his instructions and instructions, brothers David and Giorgi Mikadze, in turn, contacted their friend and trusted person Giorgi Jokhadze, to whom they entrusted the plan to commit the murder.

In order to carry out their criminal intent, to commit a planned murder for hire, they sought out Giorgi Jokhadze's former bodyguard Gela Udzilauri.

The criminal group also obtained information about the exact time and route of movement of Levan Jangveladze's arrival in Georgia, after which Gela Udzilauri killed Levan Jangveladze on order and for personal financial gain on March 14, 2025, on Chavchavadze Avenue in Tbilisi, and injured his companion with the same firearm.

A number of investigative and procedural actions have been carried out into the mentioned case, dozens of expert examinations have been conducted and witnesses interviewed, a number of material evidence have been seized, and taking into account the specifics of the investigation of similar cases, with the appropriate evidentiary standard, irrefutable evidence has been obtained exposing the murder of Levan Jangveladze by both the head of the criminal group and the members of his criminal group.

The public is aware of the fact that Gela Udzilauri, the direct perpetrator of the crime in this case, was arrested shortly after the murder. On October 24 of the current year, the court issued a verdict against him finding him guilty and sentenced Udzilauri to life imprisonment", said Aleksandre Darakhvelidze.

In addition to Gela Udzilauri, Giorgi Mikadze, Mamuka Baghdavadze, Giorgi Kachkachashvili and Sandro Tsivtsivadze are detained in this case. The weapon used to murder Levan Jangveladze was previously registered in the latter's name. Davit Mikadze and Giorgi Jokhadze are wanted.

Otar Romanov Partskhaladze, according to the relevant resolution issued by the prosecutor, is accused of having committed the organization of premeditated murder of Levan Jangveladze, the crime envisioned by Article 25-109, Sub-paragraph “N” of the Criminal Code of Georgia, which envisions the form and length of punishment of 16 to 20 years or life imprisonment.

The Prosecutor’s Office is requesting the court to impose a preventive measure of imprisonment on Otar Partskhaladze.

Partskhaladze served as the Chief Prosecutor of Georgia from November 21, 2013, to December 30, 2013. The former senior official of the Georgian Dream government was sanctioned by the United States on September 14, 2023. The State Department document referred to Otar Partskhaladze as a Georgian-Russian oligarch with whom the Russian Federal Security Service [FSB] worked to influence Georgian society and politics for the benefit of Russia. According to a statement released by the State Department, Partskhaladze obtained Russian citizenship with the help of an FSB agent. The US has also sanctioned two companies operating in Russia, in which Otar Partskhaladze owns a 50-50% stake - Moscow Business Brokerage and International Business Corporation.

A few days after the sanction, on September 20, Otar Partskhaladze donated all of his registered property in Georgia - apartments, hotel rooms, and commercial premises - to his son. The National Agency of Public Registry began processing Partskhaladze's 12 different applications and completed them within an hour.

On the same day, the State Services Development Agency of the Ministry of Justice considered it appropriate to revoke Otar Partskhaladze’s Georgian citizenship. The relevant conclusion was sent to the then-President of Georgia, Salome Zurabishvili; however, Zurabishvili did not immediately revoke Partskhaladze’s citizenship – she explained that Otar Partskhaladze should be punished as a citizen of Georgia and demanded an investigation. Salome Zurabishvili signed a decree revoking Otar Partskhaladze’s Georgian citizenship in October.

In early 2023, the TV company "Pirveli" reported that Otar Partskhaladze had acquired Russian citizenship in 2022. However, the Ministry of Justice only began investigating the matter after the imposition of US sanctions. According to Georgian law, except in exceptional cases, individuals are generally prohibited from holding dual citizenship.