U.S. Chargé d’affaires to Georgia, Ambassador Ross Wilson said on Thursday that diplomats are following the developments around TBC Bank with some concern.

"We and other diplomats are following the developments around TBC Bank with some concern, because the current situation has influence on Georgia’s image as a good place for business. I do not want to talk about specific individuals, but we clearly expressed our opinion on the importance of resolving and explaining of these ongoing events in terms of banking and legal issues,” Ambassador Wilson said.

The Chairman of the Supervisory Board of TBC Bank, Mamuka Khazaradze, has resigned from the post following the decision of the Supervisory Board to withdraw lawsuit against the National Bank of Georgia (NBG).

Khazaradze announced his resignation on February 21, a week after the NBG requested stakeholders to remove him and his deputy Badri Japaridze from their positions, due to alleged violation of the conflict-of-interest legislation.

Khazaradze denied the accusations again, saying the bank has suffered “from serious reputational damage.” “Our group, our bank have come under [unprecedented] attack, and as a result, our stakeholders have lost USD 200 million, which has also affected our country,” he said.

“Unfortunately, none of the state officials, including the Prime Minister and his ministers, have expressed readiness to meet us in person and get acquainted with this important case both for our team and for our country; although I personally wrote them and sent them relevant files for their information, I have not heard back from them,” he added.

Khazaradze then stressed he “came to realize,” that the goal of the decision was to discredit him personally, and that “companies in Georgia are supposed to have a ceiling on growth.”

“Such attacks directly affect the bank’s reputation; the bank may end up in a lengthy dispute with the regulator, particularly when the latter is not free in its decisions,” he also noted, adding that the Supervisory Board decided to withdraw the lawsuit “in the interests of stakeholders and depositors.

 "Therefore, I have decided to leave the bank, where I have spent 27 years of my life – the bank that I have turned into the region’s biggest business from [the initial capital of] USD 500. I hope the decision will positively contribute to the bank’s development in a stable and calm environment. [From now on,] I will devote my energy to implementing the country’s most important project – Anaklia deep-sea port – and I hope, I will be allowed to bring the project to completion,” Khazaradze concluded.

TBC Bank, the leading Georgian banking company, is facing criminal investigation over money-laundering allegations involving a USD 17 million transaction that took place in 2008. The bank denies the charges.