Russian citizen, two others charged with financial crimes in Georgia
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A Russian citizen and two other individuals have been charged with fraudulently obtaining a large amount of money and money laundering in Georgia.
The Georgian Chief Prosecutor’s Office says that the Russian citizen, only identified as V.L., registered a website, offering citizens of different countries assistance in obtaining a residence permit, citizenship and driver’s license, for which he received a certain amount of money.
V.L. sent the illicit income to the bank accounts of different fictitious legal entities. He opened the bank accounts himself.
The Prosecutor’s Office says that V.L. laundered about $255,882, €22,400 and 16,500 GEL (about $5,362).
Georgian law enforcers have seized three residential apartments, two cars, two garages and money from the accommodations of the offenders - $19,920 and 1,789 GEL.
The crime is punishable from nine to 12 years of imprisonment.
Georgian Public Defender’s Office has studied the high-profile case of alleged laundering of $16,664,000 by TBC bank founders Mamuka Khazaradze and Badri Japaridze and concluded that “the case materials reveal no elements which [could be] considered money laundering.”
The Prosecutor's Office says that its Financial Monitoring Service launched a study of financial assets of TBC Bank, its client companies, bank administrators and particular shareholders in May 2018, which revealed that there were “signs of money laundering”.
The Georgian State Security Service (SSS) has detained seven citizens of Iran for illegal entrepreneurship in Georgia, receiving more than 2 million GEL as an unlawful income in one year.
The former Mayor of Tbilisi has been charged with organising group violence and coercion activity in Marneuli district during the June 15 local elections which violated public order.