Civil Service Bureau: 63 % of Georgian officials asset declarations contain violations

The Civil Service Bureau of Georgia has published monitoring results of  the asset declarations of public officials carried out in 2019, according to which 63 percent of the declarations contained violations due to misstating income and also the undeclared real income of family members.

359 out of 596 declarations had violations, states Civil Service Bureau of Georgia.

There are 29 MPs out of 254 individuals who were fined in accordance of the law, including ruling Georgian Dream MP Dimitri Khundadze, former MP Zakaria Kutsnashvili and Zviad Kvachantiradze, also a former MP.

The law on Conflict of Interests and Corruption in Civil Service reads that a fine of 1,000 GEL ($347) shall be imposed on those who fail to submit asset declarations in a timely manner. 

In addition, ‘senior officials will be subjected to criminal liability in case of he/she failing to submit the asset declaration within the period enshrined by the legislation.’

The law makes the act punishable by a fine, community service or deprivation of the right to occupy an official position.

The official data provided by the Civil Service Bureau shows that 80% of Georgian officials were fined in 2017 in 2018.