TI Georgia: Almost Half of Political Donations Went to Lelo for Georgia
Transparency International Georgia (TIG), a local watchdog, released its quarterly newsletter on political donations on July 31, stating that from April 1 to June 30, 2023, all political parties in Georgia received a total of GEL 453,336 in donations, of which almost half, GEL 218,300 went to the Lelo for Georgia (Lelo) party.
Lelo is followed by Georgian Dream (GD) with GEL 108,000; United National Movement (UNM) – GEL 90,790; Christian Conservative Party – GEL 9,500 and Conservative Movement – GEL 6,550.
As for the number of donors, the Labor Party – Labour Party leads the way with 44 donations during the period, although most of these were small donations.
Georgian Dream donors
According to Transparency International Georgia, the ruling party had a total of three donors during the reporting period. “Two of the three donors, Otar Putkaradze and Davit Devadze, are business partners of Nukri Dolidze: their common company, Bondi-2009, won tenders with a total value of GEL 35 million in the same period,” – highlights the newsletter.
On June 6, Putkaradze and Devadze donated 100,000 GEL to “Georgian Dream”. They are partners in three companies (Fish Point LLC, Fishermen’s Association LLC, and Bondi-2009 LLC), of which Bondi-2009 is particularly noteworthy. “Since 2012, Bondi-2009 has won tenders with a value of up to GEL 190 million and obtained simplified procurement contracts with a value of more than GEL 800,000, while the partners of this company have donated GEL 270,000 in total to the Georgian Dream”- says the watchdog’s newsletter.
Reaction by the State Audit Office
According to Transparency International, at the request of the State Audit Office, the Revenue Service provided information on 32 individuals who donated to 11 political parties. Four of them did not have sufficient income to make the donation. According to the additional information requested by the Audit Office from commercial banks, two of the four individuals were donors to the United National Movement and two were donors to the Conservative Movement.
Also Read:
- 15/05/2023 – TI Georgia: Almost Half of Political Donations Went to Georgian Dream
- 28/02/2023 – TI Georgia: 50% of Political Donations Went to Georgian Dream
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