Former Georgia prime minister charged with corruption A former Georgian prime minister has been arrested on corruption charges in a move that may rekindle international concerns over alleged selective prosecutions under billionaire premier Bidzina Ivanishvili. Vano Merabishvili, who was prime minister until Mr Ivanishvili's surprise parliamentary election victory last October, was charged with misusing 5.2m lari ($3.2m) of state funds for campaign financing and illegally seizing a villa. Prosecutors said further charges may follow. Mr Merabishvili is a leading ally of president Mikheil Saakashvili, chairing his United National Movement party, and had been seen as a potential candidate to succeed him when Mr Saakashvili completes his second term in October. A former health minister in Mr Merabishvili's government was also arrested on abuse of office charges. The arrests may intensify the power struggle between Georgia's premier and president since Mr Ivanishvili's Georgian Dream coalition swept to power last year amid disillusionment with Mr Saakashvili's government nine years after the pro-democracy "Rose" Revolution. The victory of the tycoon, whose wealth is estimated at $5.4bn, was followed by dozens of arrests of people linked to Mr Saakashvili's party, including a former interior minister, which the party called a witch hunt against its members. Mr Merabishvili was also questioned then over allegations that he had attempted to travel on a false passport. Senior foreign officials, including then US secretary of state Hillary Clinton, called on Mr Ivanishvili's government to refrain from politically-motivated prosecutions. Mr Saakashvili's pro-western government had received strong backing from the US and the EU even as its popularity waned in recent years. The arrests had tailed off in recent months, however, with signs that Mr Ivanishvili and Mr Saakashvili were coming to terms with their political "cohabitation" despite the hostile relationship between them. That thaw may prove short-lived with Mr Saakashvili likening the arrest of his former prime minister to the imprisonment of Ukraine's ex-premier and co-leader of the 2004 Orange Revolution, Yulia Tymoshenko, on abuse of office charges. "No one should have any illusion that it was not a political decision," the president said, according to Reuters. It can have much more deplorable consequences for Georgia than for Ukraine. A government spokesman insisted the charges were not politically motivated but came from independent prosecutors. "We are talking about real facts and real evidence of crimes committed," he said. Of course the court will decide, and today in Georgia we have courts that are absolutely independent. Mr Ivanishvili was quoted as saying allegations that his government engaged in selective justice were groundless. "Both Europe and America have understood well that we do not pursue selective justice; there will be no political prosecution," he said.