Authorities Study Leasing Deal Between Khazaradze Family and German Ambassador
The statement follows reports by pro-Georgian Dream media that the German Ambassador was leasing a residence from Khazaradze's family, while it was 'unknown' whether there was a leasing agreement and whether Khazaradze's family was paying relevant taxes. Khazaradze's lawyers confirmed the deal, but said there was an agreement 'executed in compliance with all legal rules' and accused pro-GD media of spreading 'distorted information.'
'Following the information disseminated in the public domain, an analysis of the issue revealed a possible violation of tax law, which is why the Revenue Service has already begun investigating the facts and will conduct tax control measures specified by law in order to fully study the information,' the Revenue Service said in its
August 4 statement
, citing 'high public interest' in providing information about 'possible tax evasion' in the leasing deal betwen Khazaradze family and the German diplomat.
Pro-government Rustavi 2 TV channel
reported
on August 1 that the German Ambassador's 'up to 300 square meter' residence on Kavlashvili Street in downtown Tbilisi belonged to Irina Khazaradze, the Lelo leader's wife. The channel claimed it was unclear whether a formal lease agreement existed and whether the Khazaradze family was paying income tax on the arrangement.
Leaders of the ruling Georgian Dream party seized on the media reports, with GD Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze
saying
the ambassador 'put himself in an uncomfortable position and, more, he put his state, his Foreign Ministry, in an uncomfortable position.'
'Let us see, wait for the information regarding the finances, how the expenses were covered, taxes were paid, and so on, all of this is very interesting,' Kobakhidze told reporters in Shovi, Racha, on August 3. 'When you rent a residence from a leader of a certain political party and then you present yourself as a staunch supporter of this political party, it raises a lot more questions.'
The lawyers of Khazaradze's family
issued a statement
on August 2, calling the 'distorted information' spread by the pro-government channel 'another propagandistic attack' both on Khazaradze's family and the German state.
'There is a notarized agreement (N221439682 / 21.10.2022) about leasing the property in possession of the Khazaradze family to the German Ambassador, executed in compliance with all legal rules,' the lawyers said. 'Any other, i.e., undocumented cooperation with the diplomatic representation of the German Federation is impossible!'
Ambassador Fischer, a vocal critic of the Georgian Dream government's anti-democratic actions, has faced repeated attacks from the ruling party and its supporters, including public
verbal insults
. Other European diplomats, including the EU Ambassador, have likewise been targets of sustained accusations and attacks by the ruling party leadership, drawing
condemnation
from Brussels.
This post is also available in:
ქართული
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
OC Media
3 hours ago
- OC Media
Georgian court acquits protester Giorgi Akhobadze of drug charges
Sign in or or Become a member to unlock the audio version of this article The Caucasus is changing — and not for the better. With authoritarianism on the rise across the region, the threat to independent journalism is higher than ever. Join our community and help push back against the hardliners. Become a member Georgian doctor Giorgi Akhobadze has been acquitted of drug charges seen by many as political retribution for his protesting against the government. Tbilisi City Court announced the verdict on Wednesday, hours after media founder and outspoken government critic Mzia Amaghlobeli was sentenced to two years in prison. Despite the lengthy jail term she received, the judge in Amaghlobeli's case unexpectedly downgraded the charges against her; she previously faced a possible 7-year term. Akhobadze was detained on 7 December during the early stages of the ongoing anti-government protests, as he was returning home from a demonstration in central Tbilisi. Akhobadze, a doctor by profession and a specialist in anesthesiology and intensive care, was charged with criminal drug possession under an article that carries a sentence of 8–20 years or life imprisonment. Reporting from his trial earlier in August, RFE/RL said prosecutors had failed to produce conclusive evidence in Akhobadze's guilt, such as video evidence. Akhobadze himself said drugs had been planted on him by police. During the trial, he testified that while going home from the protest, he was surrounded by a group of police officers who restrained him and placed an object in his pocket. On 25 July, during his closing statement, Akhobadze said that his detention was an act of 'revenge' carried out by 'cowardly, frightened people serving the Russian regime', referring to Georgia's ruling Georgian Dream party. Advertisement 'They think they've taken away my freedom, but all they've done is shrink my battlefield. No one can limit my freedom, and no one can take it from me', he concluded. Over a month after Akhobadze's detention, his mother, a palliative care patient whom he had previously been taking care of, passed away. Akhobadze is one of several protesters whose cases raised concerns about the possible fabrication of drug charges by the authorities. In February, Transparency International Georgia listed Akhobadze, along with Nika Katsia — also detained during the protests — and Anton Chechin, a Russian citizen jailed during the same period, as protesters who had drugs planted on them by Georgian police. Katsia and Chechin's trials are ongoing. The group said that the ruling Georgian Dream party sought to discredit the protest movement by 'fabricating' drug charges against protesters, political opponents, and civil activists. Alongside Chechin, two other Russian citizens were also detained on drug charges during the protests — Artem Gribul and Anastasia Zinovkina, a couple living in Tbilisi. They denied the allegations and linked the charges to their participation in Georgia's anti-government protests. The latest wave of protests in Georgia began on 28 November, when Georgian Dream announced the suspension of the country's EU membership bid. The first phase of demonstrations saw heavy clashes and brutal police violence against protesters and journalists. Hundreds of people have been detained, with criminal cases launched in over 50 instances. Several protesters have already been convicted and sentenced to years in prison. Their release — along with calls for new parliamentary elections — has become one of the demonstrators' central demands.
OC Media
9 hours ago
- OC Media
Georgia to be excluded from EU meeting in September
Sign in or or Become a member to unlock the audio version of this article The Caucasus is changing — and not for the better. With authoritarianism on the rise across the region, the threat to independent journalism is higher than ever. Join our community and help push back against the hardliners. Become a member Georgia will not be invited to an informal meeting of European Affairs Ministers scheduled to be held on 1–2 September in Copenhagen. The Danish Foreign Ministry confirmed this decision to IPN, citing the Georgian government's November decision to suspend its EU integration bid until 2028. Held under the Danish presidency of the Council of the European Union, the meeting will be attended by the European Affairs Minister of all 27 EU member states as well as representatives of EU candidate countries Ukraine, Moldova, Turkey, and the Western Balkan countries. The Danish Foreign Ministry told IPN that the Danish presidency of the EU would 'follow the precedent set during the Polish presidency' in not inviting Georgia to EU meetings. Georgia was previously excluded from a gathering of EU foreign ministers on 7–8 May in Warsaw to discuss 'the challenges for Europe's foreign and security policy'. At the time, EU Ambassador to Georgia Paweł Herczyński told reporters that legislation passed by the ruling Georgian Dream party had brought the country further away from the EU, which would 'have consequences'. At a press briefing on Tuesday, Georgian Parliamentary Speaker Shalva Papuashvili dismissed the Danish Foreign Ministry's comments as 'disinformation'. 'There has never been any suspension of European integration, especially not on 28 November as they claim. It is disappointing that today we are hearing lies from member states of the EU', he said. Advertisement Papuashvili also said Georgia had not been invited to an upcoming session of the Conference of Parliamentary Committees for Union Affairs of Parliaments of the European Union (COSAC), which is scheduled to meet in Denmark from 30 November–2 December. He added that a letter from the Danish Parliament's European Integration Committee informing them of the decision would soon be made public, as well as his response alleging that Georgia's exclusion was a 'violation of procedures' by Denmark. The main focus of September's EU Council meeting will be EU enlargement and strengthening the EU's rule of law 'toolbox'. The latest snub comes as relations between the EU and Georgia continue to plummet. In July, the European Commission sent a series of letters to the Georgian government warning that visa-free access to the bloc for Georgians could be suspended unless the country fulfilled key democratic reforms. The commission gave Georgia until 31 August to report on its progress implementing said recommendations.
Civil.ge
2 days ago
- Civil.ge
Authorities Study Leasing Deal Between Khazaradze Family and German Ambassador
The Revenue Service of Georgia said it was studying 'possible violation of tax law' in a leasing deal between the family of Mamuka Khazaradze, jailed leader of the opposition Lelo/Strong Georgia coalition, and German Ambassador Peter Fischer. The statement follows reports by pro-Georgian Dream media that the German Ambassador was leasing a residence from Khazaradze's family, while it was 'unknown' whether there was a leasing agreement and whether Khazaradze's family was paying relevant taxes. Khazaradze's lawyers confirmed the deal, but said there was an agreement 'executed in compliance with all legal rules' and accused pro-GD media of spreading 'distorted information.' 'Following the information disseminated in the public domain, an analysis of the issue revealed a possible violation of tax law, which is why the Revenue Service has already begun investigating the facts and will conduct tax control measures specified by law in order to fully study the information,' the Revenue Service said in its August 4 statement , citing 'high public interest' in providing information about 'possible tax evasion' in the leasing deal betwen Khazaradze family and the German diplomat. Pro-government Rustavi 2 TV channel reported on August 1 that the German Ambassador's 'up to 300 square meter' residence on Kavlashvili Street in downtown Tbilisi belonged to Irina Khazaradze, the Lelo leader's wife. The channel claimed it was unclear whether a formal lease agreement existed and whether the Khazaradze family was paying income tax on the arrangement. Leaders of the ruling Georgian Dream party seized on the media reports, with GD Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze saying the ambassador 'put himself in an uncomfortable position and, more, he put his state, his Foreign Ministry, in an uncomfortable position.' 'Let us see, wait for the information regarding the finances, how the expenses were covered, taxes were paid, and so on, all of this is very interesting,' Kobakhidze told reporters in Shovi, Racha, on August 3. 'When you rent a residence from a leader of a certain political party and then you present yourself as a staunch supporter of this political party, it raises a lot more questions.' The lawyers of Khazaradze's family issued a statement on August 2, calling the 'distorted information' spread by the pro-government channel 'another propagandistic attack' both on Khazaradze's family and the German state. 'There is a notarized agreement (N221439682 / 21.10.2022) about leasing the property in possession of the Khazaradze family to the German Ambassador, executed in compliance with all legal rules,' the lawyers said. 'Any other, i.e., undocumented cooperation with the diplomatic representation of the German Federation is impossible!' Ambassador Fischer, a vocal critic of the Georgian Dream government's anti-democratic actions, has faced repeated attacks from the ruling party and its supporters, including public verbal insults . Other European diplomats, including the EU Ambassador, have likewise been targets of sustained accusations and attacks by the ruling party leadership, drawing condemnation from Brussels. This post is also available in: ქართული
