US ‘closely following’ money laundering case of TBC Bank founders
The US Embassy says that they are concerned by the timing of the charges. Photo: US embassy press office.photo: KCCT.
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The US Embassy to Georgia says that they are ‘closely following’ the developments related to the criminal charges the Georgian Chief Prosecutor General’s Office has filed against TBC Bank founders Mamuka Khazaradze and Badri Japaridze.
We are concerned about the context and timing of these charges,” the statement reads.
The embassy says that an impartial and transparent legal system that is free of political influence is vital for Georgia’s western integration and its ability to attract foreign investment.
We continue to support the Anaklia port project, a significant source of U.S. investment in Georgia that has the potential to advance the country’s economic growth,” the embassy states.
Khazaradze and Japaridze have were officially charged with laundering $16.7 million yesterday, which the Prosecutor’s Office says took place in 2007-2008.
Khazaradze says that the charge “aims to stop the construction of the Anaklia Deep Sea Port.”
The Georgian government denies the allegations, saying the project has “huge support” from the government, taking its strategic importance into account.
“The government has stated many times and I repeat that the Anaklia Port is not the project of some individual or a consortium, it is a strategically important project and the government does its best for its construction. We need the deep-sea port to increase Georgia’s transit capability and boost the state economy,” Chugoshvili said.
TBC Bank founders Mamuka Khazaradze and Badri Japaridze have officially been charged with laundering $16.7 million in 2007-2008. Khazaradze says that the charge “aims to stop the construction of the Anaklia Deep Sea Port.”
Top figures of the Georgian Dream ruling party say that there are no political grounds in the accusations against TBC founders Mamuka Khazaradze and Badri Japaridze, who will be charged with laundering of $16.7 million later today.
The Georgian Chief Prosecutor’s Office have summoned TBC founders Mamuka Khazaradze and Badri Japaridze to charge them [later today] with laundering $16,754,000. The Prosecutor’s Office launched an investigation into possible money laundering on 2 August 2018, ‘after the Georgian Financial Monitoring Service sent us a written note about a possible violation’ taking place in 2007- 2008.
Georgian businessman Avtandil Tsereteli has been charged as an accomplice in a money laundering case concerning the founders of TBC Bank Badri Japaridze and Mamuka Khazaradze, who have been charged with laundering $16,164,000.