TI-Georgia Lists European Assets of GD Officials As Ruling Party Downplays Visa-Free Warnings

Transparency International Logo Source: transparency.ge

Transparency International/TI-Georgia, the country’s leading corruption watchdog, reviewed businesses and properties owned by Georgian Dream representatives in Europe in a new report as the ruling party continues to downplay the effects of the potential suspension of visa-free travel with the EU amid warnings from Brussels.

“While Georgia is on the verge of losing visa liberalization with the European Union due to the authoritarian policies of the Georgian Dream, current and former members and officials of the party themselves are buying real estate in Europe, establishing companies, and obtaining EU citizenship for their children,” TI-Georgia said in a July 28 report.

The report reviews 17 individuals, including current and former Georgian Dream members, officials, and businessmen close to the party, who own companies and real estate in France, Germany, the Netherlands, the Czech Republic, Spain, Denmark, Slovakia, Hungary, Greece, and Cyprus. The watchdog notes that the list, compiled from publicly available sources, is “only a small part” of what party members are believed to own across Europe.

Those listed in the TI report are:

  1. Bidzina Ivanishvili, Georgian Dream’s billionaire founder and honorary chairman, widely believed to be the country’s informal ruler. According to TI-Georgia, out of about 20 foreign companies owned by Ivanishvili’s family, most are registered in Europe – including the United Kingdom, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, and France. Ivanishvili himself holds French citizenship. In addition, he and his wife, Ekaterina Khvedelidze, own two properties in Paris: a 300-square-meter residence and a forested plot, jointly managed through a French real estate firm.
  2. Kakha Kaladze, Georgian Dream secretary general and Tbilisi mayor, owns a seven-room apartment in Paris, purchased in early 2022 for 3.5 million euros. According to TI-Georgia, Kaladze officially owns the property through Kala Capital, a company registered in his wife’s name. The watchdog also notes that all four of Kaladze’s children are presumed to be EU citizens, as they were born in Italy and France.
  3. Anton Obolashvili, Georgian Dream MP, and his wife own an apartment in Paris, which was purchased in 2014 for about 1.1 million euros.
  4. Kakha Bekauri, director of the Georgian National Communications Commission (ComCom), the state media regulator, and his wife founded the company Nap Real Estate in Paris. According to TI-Georgia, the company’s official activity is real estate management. Bekauri and his wife contributed more than 1.76 million euros to the company in 2024, likely for the purchase of property in France.
  5. Vakhtang Jaoshvili, Georgia’s ambassador to India, has a wife and child with French citizenship. His wife owns three properties in France – two apartments and a residential building – each purchased for several hundred thousand euros.
  6. Levan Kobiashvili, former GD lawmaker and current president of the Georgian Football Federation, and his wife own two properties in Berlin – a plot of land with a residential building purchased in 2014 for around 1.7 million euros, and an apartment purchased in 2020 for nearly 1 million euros. His two children were born in Germany and are presumably EU citizens.
  7. Giorgi Kajaia, a former Ambassador at Georgia’s Interests Section in the Swiss Embassy in Russia, has a German wife who owns an apartment in Berlin, purchased in 2008 for 200,000 euros. In March 2024, he was appointed as a Special Representative of the Prime Minister for Relations with Russia.
  8. Irakli Rukhadze, the owner of the main pro-government TV channel Imedi, holds several companies, including in telecommunications and banking, through entities registered in the Netherlands.
  9. Nikoloz Laliashvili, former director of pro-GD Imedi TV and currently Georgia’s ambassador to Hungary and Montenegro, owns a 50% stake in a company registered in the Netherlands, while his wife, a Slovak citizen, owns a company registered in the Czech Republic. Laliashvili most recently served as ambassador to Kazakhstan and has held various public service roles, including senior positions at the Ministry of Defense and the National Security Council. From 2008 to 2012, he served as an MP in the Georgian Parliament through the party list of Giorgi Targamadze–Christian Democrats.
  10. Aleksi Akhvlediani, former director of the Maritime Transport Agency, owns two properties in the Czech Republic, purchased in 2012 and 2013 for about 1.3 million euros. He also holds 100% ownership in companies registered in the Czech Republic and Slovenia. Akhvlediani was recently removed from his post after being charged with negligent firearm storage in connection with the alleged suicide attempt of former Adjara government head Tornike Rizhvadze. He was released on GEL 30,000 (approximately USD 11,100) bail.
  11. Nino Tsilosani, a Georgian Dream lawmaker, holds a 25% stake in Almitrans, a company registered in the Czech Republic.
  12. Nikoloz Nikolozishvili, ambassador-at-large, owns an apartment in Bratislava purchased in 2008 for nearly 280,000 euros; his wife is a Slovak citizen.
  13. Romeo Mikautadze, the former first deputy economy minister who was recently charged and jailed on money laundering allegations, owns an apartment in Berlin purchased in 2024 for 660,000 euros.
  14. Nata Menabde, Georgia’s ambassador to Denmark, owns a roughly 150-square-meter apartment in Hellerup, Denmark, purchased in 2005 for about $670,000 at today’s exchange rate.
  15. Giorgi Sharvashidze, Georgia’s ambassador to Armenia, owns an apartment in Budapest purchased in 2006 for 100,000 euros. His child was born in Hungary. Before his diplomatic service, Sharvashidze served as rector of Tbilisi State University. His reelection to the position came amid plagiarism allegations, after a 2019 investigation by Liberty Monitor said that 40 pages of his 2005 doctoral thesis had been copied from an earlier brochure without citation.

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