TBC Bank Chair on money laundering case: gov’t actions are controversial
By Gvantsa Gabekhadze
Wednesday, February 20
TBC bank founders Mamuka Khazaradze and Badri Japaridze met with the media late on Monday, regarding the money laundering case being investigated by the Chief Prosecutor’s Office, featuring the two top bankers in a possible illegal $17 million transaction in 2007-2008.
Khazaradze and Japaridze, who strongly deny any illegalities, told the media that the transaction has already been studied by the world leading companies, who found “no violations.”
The tone of the two was conciliatory as they expressed readiness to closely cooperate with the National Bank of Georgia, which demanded the withdrawal of Khazaradze and Japaridze from the bank’s supervisory council due to the case short before, to find outcomes from the “current complicated situation” and avoid negative effects on the country’s investment environment and economy.”
Japaridze ignored the question about the links between the investigation and the Anaklia Deep Sea Port project, as earlier Khazaradze said that the “deliberate negative campaign against top TBC figures” was likely to be connected with the 2,5 billion Anaklia deep sea project.
Responding to the question Khazaradze said that “on the one hand the government stands with us to implement the project, and on the other hand the Prosecutor’s Office makes such statement before the investigation is over, which may damage the project.”
“The hastened investigation and the leakage of information in google and in multiple international media as if Badri and I could be related with a certain crime directly influence the project,” Khazaradze said.
He stated that negotiations have been ongoing with foreign financial institutions regarding the project for five years and at the end of spring or beginning of the summer final deals are to be signed.
“Which financial institution will sign a deal with the head of the main investing holding when a criminal case, an invented case I would say, is opened which involves him?!” Khazaradze said.
Khazaradze and Japaridze strongly dismissed the speculations [by the opposition] that the founder of the Georgian Dream Bidzina Ivanishvili demanded the handover of the TBC bank shares or he [Ivanishvili] was interested in the suspension of the internationally important Anaklia Deep Sea Port project as the port “is not in the interests of Russia.”
The Anaklia deep sea project is the $2.5 billion project which launched in 2017.
The port will play the role of a faster maritime corridor between China and Europe, helping to restore the historic Silk Road.
The Anaklia Development Consortium will invest $2.5 billion USD in the Anaklia Deep Sea Port project, which is scheduled to be completed in 2020.
The consortium was jointly established by TBC Holding and US firm Conti International.
The port is expected to significantly raise Georgia’s economic potential and its international role, even making the country attractive for NATO.
The Georgian Chief Prosecutor’s Office stated earlier in January 2018 that its Financial Monitoring Service launched a study of financial assets of TBC Bank, its client companies, bank administrators and particular shareholders in May 2018, which revealed that there were “signs of money laundering”.
“We launched the investigation into money laundering on 2 August 2018. The case concerns developments in 2008 when LTD Samgori M and LTD Samgori Trade received a 17 million USD loan in an accelerated manner from TBC Bank without providing any real estate,” the Prosecutor’s Office says.
Georgian Prime Minister Mamuka Bakhtadze has called upon the public to refrain from political speculations regarding the TBC Bank-related case, as the issue is not political.
He says that the National Bank of Georgia, which is a regulatory bank, makes decisions based on 'very high professional standards.'
Bakhtadze said linking the case with the Anaklia project was a 'very bad speculation.'
