TBC Bank founders ordered to GEL 700,000 bail
By Tea Mariamidze
Monday, July 29
Founders of Georgia’s largest bank TBC, Mamuka Khazaradze and Badri Japaridze were sentenced to GEL 700,000 bail each by Tbilisi City Court.
The two men were also forbidden to leave Georgia without informing and getting permission from the investigative agency.
The Prosecutor’s office of Georgia (POG) demanded bail of GEL 1 million, which was opposed by the defense.
The POG stated on July 24 that they decided to charge Mamuka Khazaradze and Badri Japaridze for the laundering of $16,754,000, as a result of which, they received a large amount of income. The investigation into the case was launched on 2 August 2018.
Prosecutor Archil Tkeshelashvili said the case contains evidence against the two men, including testimony of witnesses, as well as the audit reports of the National Bank and Revenue Service, bank transactions and others.
Khazaradze and Japaridze deny charges and link the developments to Khazaradze’s political plans and Anaklia Deep Sea Project, construction of which is led by TBC Group.
At the court, the two men announced that they have left the positions of chairman and deputy chairman of the Anaklia Board of Governors.
Khazaradze stated the relevant statement will be made next week to put end to speculations.
“Anaklia is a vital project for our country, which can turn the country’s economy into a gateway between Europe and Asia and attract big investors. This is absolutely incomprehensible. On the one hand, the government says it supports Anaklia and, on the other hand, they are directly fighting against this project,” he said.
Two days before this, the two men also quit the posts the chairman and the deputy chairman of the Supervisory Board of TBC Bank until “this absurd process is over.”
Khazaradze vowed he will “continue to fight” and also appeal the court decision.
He stated the recent developments are orchestrated by the founder and chair of the ruling Georgian Dream (GD) party, Bidzina Ivanishvili, who is often referred to as the informal ruler of the country.
TBC Bank founder also said that his political plans are unchanged and he will do his best to collapse this system.
He added that the movement he plans to establish will have a new generation and professionals.
“The force, that loves Georgia, which fights for freedom, does not want Russian orientation, fights against the occupation, and wishes Georgia to finally become a successful country without nepotism and clannish, autocratic governance,” Khazaradze stated.
Member of the opposition party European Georgia, Giga Bokeria says the recent developments around Khazaradze and Japaridze is political persecution from Ivanishvili.
“Everything is obvious here and nobody hides anything. It is a very difficult situation for our country, not only for the two men [Khazaradze and Japaridze] but for our every citizen,” he stressed.
GD member and Vice-Speaker of the parliament, Gia Volsky excludes that the developments are politically motivated.
“This process is portrayed by our opponents as if it is political. They are politicizing the process which needs to be legally responded…This case has nothing to do with politics,” he added.
Part of the non-governmental organizations also released a statement regarding the case, saying the charges against the founders of TBC Bank raise many questions about the investigation.
“On July 24, the Prosecutor’s Office of Georgia charged the founders of TBC Bank – Mamuka Khazaradze and Badri Japaridze – with money laundering over transactions that allegedly took place 11 years ago. The case against the founders of TBC was opened in August 2018 and some legitimate concerns were raised regarding the basis for the launch of the investigation. A series of suspicious decisions were carried out by state agencies against the founders of TBC in the follow-up to the launch of the investigation,” the statement reads.
The NGOs say such as the launch of the investigation and the charges leveled against Khazaradze and Japaridze, could be an indication that the case is politically motivated.
“This suspicion is further reinforced by the fact that Khazaradze announced his intention to establish a public movement on July 9, 2019,” they said.
The organizations also mentioned Anaklia Deep Sea Port project, saying at the sitting of the Budget and Finance Parliamentary Committee held on March 2019, Mamuka Khazaradze spoke openly about the instances of intimidation and blackmail carried out against him by the Minister of Internal Affairs and the National Bank.
“The aforementioned circumstances further strengthen the concerns of various organizations over the alarming increase of signs of informal rule and state capture, which implies the excessive concentration of power in the hands of the ruling party and influential informal groups, as well as the use of public institutions for private interests,” the statement reads.
