Anaklia Development Consortium has filed a lawsuit in the Arbitration Court

By Anastasia Sokhadze

Friday, July 31

Anaklia Development Consortium and a major foreign investor are seeking more than $1 billion in damages in an arbitration lawsuit against Georgia.

Anaklia Development Consortium and the state started working together on the project in 2016.

At a press conference, the consortium's lawyer, Qeti Kvartskhava, stated that one lawsuit has been filed on behalf of the consortium in the International Arbitration Court of the International Chamber of Commerce, and the other one on behalf of one of the main investors, Bob Meyer, at the Investment Dispute Resolution Center.

Anaklia Development Consortium, established for the development of the Anaklia Port project, consists of both Georgian and international investors. The ADC has filed an arbitration claim with the International Court of Arbitration (ICC) of the International Chamber of Commerce. Bob Meyer, a well-known Dutch businessman who has been successfully investing in Georgia and around the world for many years, has filed a lawsuit with the International Investment Dispute Resolution Center (ICSID) under a bilateral international investment protection agreement between Georgia and the Netherlands. After a two-year campaign by the government and the ruling Georgian Dream party to thwart ADC's efforts to make the project a success, in January 2020, the government illegally terminated the contract.

Government officials have repeatedly criticized the project, and its shareholders in both public and private meetings have told potential investors and funders that the government was reluctant to participate in the project, which was clear to US government officials that the project was not supported by the Georgian government. The government's aggressive campaign against the Anaklia project has caused a great deal of damage to ADC and its investors. Between the illegal and unethical actions of the government and the Georgian Dream, it is noteworthy that a groundless investigation has been launched into allegations of money laundering by successful Georgian businessman Mamuka Khazaradze and Badri Japaridze, who are the main investors in the project. The allegations of defamation against Khazaradze and Japaridze were intended to warn investors and financiers that they would refrain from supporting the project. Such support was essential for the success of the project.

According to Kvartskhava, as a result of the violation of the agreement by the Georgian government, they have suffered more than a billion dollars in damage.

"The lack of support from the Georgian government, particularly the Georgian Dream and its leader, Bidzina Ivanishvili, for the consortium and the Anaklia project, and the aggressive campaign against the project and the investor, were motivated by several notices. Also, as it turned out, Bidzina Ivanishvili and the Georgian Dream are very sensitive to the pressure coming from Russia,” stated Ted Jonas, a member of the consortium's supervisory board.

Over the past two years, the government has repeatedly delayed fulfilling its consortium commitments. They accused the consortium of failing to meet its obligations while the consortium, on the contrary, accused the government of interfering.

Mamuka Khazaradze, the then head of TBC Holding, which is part of the consortium and now the leader of the movement Lelo, said that the government was deliberately hindering the construction of the Anaklia port.