Georgia’s former defense minister is under investigation for his possible involvement in an international call center fraud scheme that defrauded victims in Europe of their savings, the Georgian prosecutor’s office said.

According to the Georgian prosecutor’s office, illegal income in excess of a million dollars was allegedly transferred to the accounts of David Kezerashvili and two of his relatives. This is reported by AGGREGATOR

Kezerashvili served as head of the financial police and became defense minister under Mikheil Saakashvili, who was president of Georgia from 2004 to 2013. Kezerashvili has not been charged.

Law enforcement agencies from Georgia and Germany took part in the investigation. During the work, they identified four suspects who were charged with "fraud and money laundering as part of an organized group." According to the prosecutor’s office, one of the suspects allegedly transferred money to Kezerashvili and his relatives.

“The investigation into this case is still ongoing, including with the participation of our foreign colleagues,” the prosecutor’s office reported.

Kezerashvili did not respond to emailed questions, and the law firm representing him declined to comment on the allegations.

Police dismantled a “large fraudulent call center” in Tbilisi on Thursday, seizing hundreds of computers and phones, as well as vehicles and more than $800,000 in cash. The suspected scammers operated as Morgan Limited LLC, prosecutors said.

In 2020, OCCRP reported on a network of call centers spanning Georgia, Albania, and Ukraine that employed an army of salespeople who persistently pitched dubious investments to victims around the world. The centers used different names, including Milton Group in Ukraine and Morgan Limited in Georgia.

They deceived vulnerable and elderly people into transferring large sums to the fraudsters under the guise of investments. According to estimates published by the Spanish police in 2022, the scheme cost victims billions of euros.

The Georgian prosecutor’s office reported that the criminal group dismantled on Thursday had swindled approximately $2.9 million from citizens of Germany, Slovenia and Slovakia.

Call center employees registered victims on cryptocurrency exchanges and then transferred the “virtual assets” they purchased to the criminal group’s digital wallets. At the same time, victims were shown fictitious platforms that simulated the growth of their investments.

“When the victims demanded that their invested funds or profits be returned to them, all communication with them ceased,” the prosecutor’s office said.

In 2013, Kezerashvili was accused of accepting $12 million in bribes to turn a blind eye to alcohol smuggling into Georgia. He was eventually cleared of charges he said were politically motivated.