The US Embassy in Georgia has made additional clarifications regarding the public designations of four Georgian judges - Mikheil Chinchaladze, Levan Murusidze, Irakli Shengelia and Valerian Tsertsvadze.

According to the Embassy, these are visa designations under Section 7031(c) of the FY 2023 Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations Act that prevent these individuals (and their immediate family members) from entering the U.S. based on credible information that those identified are involved in significant corruption.

“Those designated and their immediate family members are ineligible for entry into the United States.

There is no time limit on these designations. Section 7031(c) does authorize waivers of, and exceptions that may permit an individual to travel under certain circumstances.

The Secretary of State has credible information that the individuals designated were involved in significant corruption related to their current and former judicial positions. Their corruption undermined rule of law and democratic processes in Georgia.

Information is gathered from a variety of sources, including open sources. Credible information was obtained that the judges abused their public positions by participating in corrupt activity that undermined judicial and public processes, offered benefits to and/or coerced judges to decide cases in favor of political allies, and manipulated judicial appointments to their benefit.

The information we have gathered meets the required standards under U.S. law to deny them entry to the United States. It is up to the authorities in Georgia to investigate corruption in its own country”, reads the information released by the Embassy.