Georgian Revenue Service rejects “misinformation” about sending radio transmitting device to Belarus, circumventing sanctions

The Georgian Revenue Service on Sunday rejected as “disinformation” a story aired on TV Pirveli channel that alleged an American-made radio transmitting and receiving device had been sent by a Georgian-based company through an intermediary country and eventually to Belarus, in circumvention of sanctions imposed on Russia and Belarus since the start of the war in Ukraine.

In its statement, the state body said Communicom LLC, a company representing the Motorola Solutions in Georgia, had declared a radio repeater in customs for export to an Uzbek company that operated as the official representative of Motorola in the country.

The Service noted the mentioned device did not require a dual-purpose export permit and had been imported “many times before”. It also said whether exported goods remained in the destination country or were ultimately forwarded to another state did not “fall within the competence” of state agencies operating in Georgia.

The state body noted TV Pirveli channel had not requested any information before airing its story, and accused the media outlet of spreading “misinformation” with the aim of “misleading the public and discrediting the agency”.

The Service called on the channel to “provide proof” of the allegation of sanctions circumvention as presented in the programme.