OREANDA-NEWS Five Russians were detained in Georgia on charges of legalizing illegal income. This is reported by TASS with reference to the statement of the Ministry of Finance of the country.

Russian citizens are charged with carrying out illegal production activities, for which, according to investigators, a large amount of currency was imported into Georgia, bypassing border control. After that, virtual assets were acquired without registration and permission from the National Bank — both an illegal office and a courier service were offered.

The company carried out virtual transactions with the equivalent of millions of lari (the current lari exchange rate is 29.08 rubles), which was connected to the implementation of uncontrolled international transactions in the country, the department stressed, transferring the amounts seized as part of the investigation — 371 thousand dollars from the company's office, another 100 thousand from one of the detainees, as well as 250 thousand from several cars with Russian license plates.

It is noted that the Russians in question face from 9 to 12 years in prison.

According to statistics from the National Bank of Georgia, in the first half of 2025, the volume of money transfers from Russia to the country decreased by about a third by January-June 2024, amounting to about $ 218 million. Italy and the United States showed growth and overtook Russia in this indicator with 295 and 321 million dollars, respectively.