TI Georgia: 6 public officials of Georgia’s Adjara region falsely filed asset declarations

Transparency International (TI) Georgia reports that the public asset declarations of six public officials of the Government of Adjara, subordinate bodies and the Supreme Council were not filed correctly in 2019-2020. 

At the same time, in two cases, officials holding shares in various enterprises did not transfer the management rights of their shares to another person, which is a violation of the requirements of the Law on Conflict of Interest and Corruption in Public Service

TI Georgia reports that Tornike Rizhvadze, the chair of the Adjara Government, owns 25 per cent shares in LLC Adjara Berry Limited. He should have transferred the management rights of his shares to another person, which he has not done. Rizhvadze has violated the requirements of the Law on Conflict of Interest and Corruption in Public Service, reads the official statement of TI.

The research of asset declarations also revealed:

• Zurab Tenieshvili, Adjara’s Deputy Healthcare and Social Protection Minister, did not indicate that he was co-owner of a 175 square meter commercial property in Adjara and hid the income received from the sale of the property.
• Mukhran Kakabadze, the Head of Adjara’s Roads Department, in his public asset declaration that was filed on September 10, 2019, did not indicate the entrepreneurial activity of his father, Nodar Kakabadze. Nodar Kakabadze is the director of LLC House of Piazza and owner of 20 per cent of the shares. At the same time, Kakabadze has not declared the following real estate properties: a 57,22 square meter apartment in Batumi and 38,28 square meter space registered to his mother’s name in Batumi.
• Nugzar Surmanidze, a member of the Supreme Council of Adjara indicated in his public asset declaration that his wife had not received any income from the management of 10 per cent shares in LLC Vitafarm in 2019. TI has researched that the company received a total of 56,920 GEL ($17,732) from simplified procurement in 2019.
• Khvicha Sharashidze, a member of the Supreme Council of Adjara owns 50 per cent of the shares of LLC “My House”, LLC “Duplex-Construction Company” and LLC ”Vox”. He should have transferred management rights to another person in a short period of time after his appointment, though he did not.
• In his public asset declaration Vakhtang Tsuladze, a member of the Supreme Council of Adjara did not indicate a 3,10 square meter space that he owns in Batumi.

TI Georgia says that the review of the asset declarations of officials is one of the most important anti-corruption tools and calls on the Public Service Bureau to investigate the public asset declarations provided in the report.