Watchdog: Anti-Corruption Bureau Fails to Duly Publish Asset Declaration Monitoring Results
On 5 July, Transparency International-Georgia, a local watchdog, issued a statement saying the Anti-Corruption Bureau has failed to duly publish the results of the monitoring of the asset declarations of high-ranking officials in 2023.
TI-Georgia says that from 2017, when monitoring of asset declarations became obligatory, to 2022, the Civil Service Bureau consistently and proactively released results every December 31st. Since September 1, 2023, the responsibility for declaration monitoring has shifted to the newly created Anti-Corruption Bureau. But instead of improving the process, as it was expected, TI-Georgia says the standard for declaration monitoring has worsened.
According to the watchdog, in 2023, 720 declarations were subject to monitoring, including those of PM Irakli Kobakhidze and his predecessor, Irakli Garibashvili, the former Prosecutor-General Irakli Shotadze and his deputies, the current Head of the State Security Service Grigol Liluashvili and his deputies, and senior parliamentary officials and judges.
Not only has the Anti-Corruption Bureau missed the deadline, but it has not published data on discovered violations, sanctions, etc. Only the general statistics of monitoring up until September 1, 2023, were presented to the parliament on March 29, 2024. Not even that data was made public for the monitoring conducted from September 1 to December 31, 2023.
According to the TI-Georgia, the Bureau explains that results for approximately 220 officials, including the current Prime Minister, 68 Members of Parliament, 13 Deputy Ministers, five judges, two prosecutors, and heads of governments of autonomous republics, will be included in the 2024 annual report, slated for publication in 2025. The watchdog criticizes the Anti-Corruption Bureau’s justification that ongoing monitoring prevents the publication of statistics, stating it violates legal requirements.
“We call on the Anti-Corruption Bureau to fully publish the results of the monitoring of property declarations in 2023 in accordance with the requirements of the Anti-Corruption Law,” the watchdog says.
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