Georgia, Tbilisi, June 28 / Trend N.Kirtskhalia /
On the night of June 28, financial police of the Ministry of Finance of Georgia detained four high-ranking officials of Tbilisi Mayor's Office.
They are accused of embezzlement of 48,930,822 lari ($ 1 = 1.65 lari), the Finance Ministry told Trend.
The detainees are the deputy mayor of Tbilisi David Alavidze, chairman of the Development Fund of Tbilisi David Avaliani, head of the procurement service Alexi Tabuashvili and deputy head of Krtsanisi district of Tbilisi Dmitri Chkheidze.
They can be sentenced to a term of 7-11 years.
The detainees doesn't not plead guilty.
Mayor of Tbilisi Gigi Ugulava reacted to his staff's detention by an emergency press conference at night, calling the detentions unlawful.
He recalled that the Mayor's Office's 23 officers were arrested on Thursday; however they were later released.
"But as the NATO Secretary General left the country, they started arrests on trumped up charges again. Doing so, they are trying to put pressure on the Tbilisi Sakrebulo (City Council -representative body in the city government) where our party, 'United National Movement retains a majority," he said.