Head of Adjara’s Revenue Service Arrested

Head of the Adjara Autonomous Republic’s Revenue Service, Giorgi Emiridze, who was appointed on the post by the new government, was arrested on January 29 on bribe-taking charges.

Emiridze was appointed on the post by Finance Minister Nodar Khaduri in mid-November, 2012. This is the first case of arrest of a senior official from the new government.

The Interior Ministry accuses Emiridze of taking GEL 15,000 in bribe “from founders” of Batumi-based company Black Sea Pilot Service in exchange for favorable tax treatment.

The company has eight co-owners; one of them is Aslan Smirba who was Batumi mayor a decade ago; he holds 30% shares of Black Sea Pilot Service.

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