TBILISI, January 31 - RAPSI, Maggie Kikaleishvili. Former Defense Minister of Georgia David Kezerashvili has been charged with accepting a $12 million bribe, says investigator David Kvinikadze.

According to the Georgian Finance Ministry, Kezerashvili assisted a group of criminals in their dealings, including to export counterfeit alcohol, when he was head of the country's financial police in 2007. The ministry also noted that Kezerashvili demanded larger bribes from the criminals at the time when he was Georgia's Defense Minister.

"The investigation has established that David Kezerashvili agreed to help a group of criminals for reasons of personal gain and used his official position to cover up their crimes," Kvinikadze said at a briefing in the Finance Ministry. He added that "investigators report that Kezerashvili accepted a $12 million bribe."

David Kezerashvili was Georgia's Defense Minister during the Georgian-Russian conflict in South Ossetia in 2008.