Parliament Speaker “astonished” to see US Ambassador “stand up for Kezerashvili” with comments

Georgian Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili on Thursday said he was “astonished” to see the United States Ambassador Kelly Degnan “stand up” for the wanted former Defence Minister David Kezerashvili with comments on allegations of the latter’s involvement in an international fraud scheme.

Papuashvili’s comments followed the statement by Degnan, who on Wednesday said Kezerashvili had denied the accusations, made in a BBC investigative report that alleged his role in the scheme that defrauded European citizens.

In her comments, the Ambassador said “more information is needed, and a legal process needs to be conducted” on the matter. 

Papuashvili responded by citing the existing conviction against Kezerashvili for embezzlement of Georgian state funds during his time as the Minister between 2006-2008.

“There is a criminal judgement against Kezerashvili. It is confirmed that he stole €5 million from the Georgian army, everyone knows this, including our partners. What additional investigation are we talking about?”, he said.

“Today, Kezerashvili should be serving his sentence in a Georgian prison. Because he is protected, he is free to move freely within the EU member states. It is a fact that he has some patronage, and with this patronage he finances political parties, non-governmental sector, media and riots in Georgia”, the head of the legislative body noted.

The BBC investigation said the Panama Papers - the 11.5 million documents leaked in 2016 to show financial dealings of wealthy individuals and officials across the world - had shown Kezerashvili to be at the centre of the scheme, in which fake call centre operators pretending to represent legitimate agencies offered investment opportunities to their targets in Europe while defrauding them of funds.

The former Minister’s conviction in the embezzlement case in Georgia was upheld by the Tbilisi Court of Appeals last month, after he was ordered by the City Court to pay €5,060,000 in compensation to the Ministry of Defence.