Finance Minister: 46 call centres operating in Georgia under investigation for alleged illegal activities
Khutsishvili also said legislative amendments over activities of call centres would be submitted to the Government of Georgia for consideration “in the coming future”. Photo: The Ministry of Finance of Georgia/Facebook.
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A total of 46 call centres operating in Georgia have suspended their activities while being investigated by the Ministry of Finance for alleged “illegal activities”, Lasha Khutsishvili, the Finance Minister of Georgia, said on Monday.
The update follows Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili tasking Khutsishvili in February to investigate activities of all call centres in the country, following a lawsuit stemming from allegations related to an October case of fraudulent operations set up by a group of Georgian and Israeli citizens in Georgia.
- Finance ministry to investigate call centres following state official’s lawsuit against TV channels
- Seven arrested for international extortion
In the case, Georgian law enforcement agencies, in cooperation with their German counterparts, arrested seven individuals in Georgia, who embezzled millions of euros from German citizens via fake ‘call centre’ services set up for the purpose.
Khutsishvili also said legislative amendments over activities of call centres would be submitted to the Government of Georgia for consideration “in the coming future”.
The Head of the State Security Service of Georgia, Grigol Liluashvili, has filed a lawsuit against Mtavari Arkhi and Formula TV channels after the media outlets aired reports alleging links between him and the criminal case dating back to October and relating to fraudulent operations set up by a group of Georgian and Israeli citizens in Georgia.
The Georgian law enforcement agencies, in cooperation with Germany, have arrested seven members of an international criminal group in Georgia which ‘fraudulently embezzled millions of euros from German citizens and laundering of illegal income.’
Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili has said that the former official of the United National Movement (UNM), David Kezerashvili, allegedly stands behind the fraudulent call centres. Garibashvili claims that Kezerashvili, who held the position of the minister of defense of Georgia under the UNM government, supposedly organised a criminal investment network operating as call centres.
The Prosecution Service of Georgia has launched criminal proceedings against seven individuals and two legal entities for fraud and legalisation of illicit income, the state body announced on Monday.
The Prosecutor’s Office of Georgia has launched criminal proceedings against a criminal group for fraud and money laundering, the state body announced on Tuesday.
The prosecutor general’s office of Georgia on Wednesday said it had solved a transnational crime involving fraudulent call centre services together with law enforcement agencies of seven partner countries.
Energo-Pro Georgia, a company responsible for electricity distribution across the country, has urged vigilance on the backdrop of a “pyramid scheme” operation that has been targeting social media users in the name of the company and offering them an investment opportunity.
The Prosecutor’s Office of Georgia on Saturday said it “intensively” continued to fight against transnational crime involving fraudulent call centre services, together with law enforcement agencies of European partner countries and under the coordination of the European Union Agency for Criminal Justice Cooperation, in order to expose involved individuals and especially organisers of the transnational crimes.
The Georgian Prosecutor General’s Office on Wednesday said it was involved in “large-scale” operations run under the European Union Agency for Criminal Justice Cooperation against online fraud schemes involving cryptocurrencies, after the European body released information on the efforts on Tuesday.
The Georgian Prosecutor General’s Office on Monday announced the commencement of legal proceedings against a criminal group associated with a “call centre” scam scheme operating in the country and targeting German citizens with fraud.
The Prosecutor’s Office of Georgia on Thursday said it was carrying out investigative and procedural actions at several locations in the capital city of Tbilisi as part of the international investigation against transnational crime involving fraudulent call centre services.
The Tbilisi City Court sentenced an Albanian national to a three-month extradition detention for his involvement in a “call centre” scam scheme that defrauded German citizens, following a request by the Georgian Prosecutor’s Office.