Khazaradze: State finances Kobi highway which is in Russia's interest

By Natalia Kochiashvili

Wednesday, January 15

Founder of Lelo, Khazaradze: “We are in a court at Bidzina Ivanishvili's staged show”. Photo: Lelo web

One of the leaders of Lelo, Japaridze: We want to come to the court to share our plans with the public. We need to get the country out of crisis and every family to benefit from the projects and programs that will work for Georgia.”

Mamuka Khazaradze, one of the founders of TBC Bank, Anaklia Development Consortium and the political union Lelo Georgia, has once again accused the Georgian Dream government and Bidzina Ivanishvili of pursuing Russian interests.

Khazaradze, accused of legalization of illicit income, made a presentation at the Tbilisi City Court yesterday before proceeding with the case, discussing the suspension of the Anaklia Port Project and the construction of the Kvesheti-Kobi road.

According to him, unlike the Anaklia project which would bring new jobs and economic growth, the government promotes the construction of an economically useless highway that is in Russia's interest.

The founder of Lelo Georgia reiterated that the Anaklia Port Project was halted only because the state did not issue a $ 50 million guarantee, even though the consortium signed with 4 banks for $ 400 million and needed only a state guarantee. According to Khazaradze, as the occupation line is 4 kilometers from Anaklia, the banks demanded a $50 million guarantee for the cargo turnover: “The state would probably never need to use it because the increase of containers transporting through Georgia is 40%”.

According to Khazaradze, the Anaklia Port Project is not in Russia's interest, unlike the subway route to Kazbegi, which the Georgian government has prioritized and finances: “With our money, state budget and half a billion debt we give a new opportunity to Russia to more comfortably enter her tanks.”

According to the decision of the Government of Georgia, the termination of the investment agreement signed with the Anaklia Development Consortium on October 3, 2016, will commence.

The Minister of Infrastructure Maia Tskitishvili spoke about this on January 9, after the government session ended. The gov’t has decided to launch both the legalization of the termination of the investment contract and the preparation of a re-bid for the Anaklia Port Development project.

Khazaradze said that the whole vector of the state's current policy is directed to Russia and to invest in a project that neither creates jobs nor promotes economic growth and is only in the interests of its northern neighbor.

He opposes changing the priorities of the country, not the roads and constructions.

As Khazaradze said before the previous session, due to the fact that his and Badri Japaridze's trials are scheduled almost every other day, the public will be introduced with all information from the courtyard. The court considers the case against the co-founders of TBC Bank Mamuka Khazaradze and Badri Japaridze. They are charged with the laundering of $16 664 000. Khazaradze and Japaridze deny the accusation. Businessman Avtandil Tsereteli is accused of providing assistance to them, who also calls the case absurd.

Before the court hearing on January 14, Badri Japaridze, co-founder of TBC Bank and political union Lelo, said that the prosecution had no witnesses to prove the prosecution's defamation: “We are dealing with a completely grotesque process.”

Japaridze said that every day of his trial would be used as a tribune to inform the public of Lelo's plans and solutions to the crisis that the government and its leader Ivanishvili has plunged the country into.