Influential international publications focus on 'political motive' of the case of cofounders of TBC Bank, Mamuka Khazaradze and Badri Japaridze. 

On September 11 Eureporter has published an article entitled “Khazaradze - Japaridze – Concern grows over ‘politically motivated’ case against leading Georgian businessmen”

According to the author of the article, Martin Banks, In July 2019, Khazaradze and Japaridze were charged with fraud by Georgian prosecutors but there is growing anxiety because Georgian prosecutors are said to be relying on an 11-year old transaction in order to try and make a case against the two men.

“There are also suspicions that the charges came soon after Khazaradze announced a new political movement in Georgia,” Banks wrote. 

“Zviad Kordzadze, the men’s Georgian lawyer, said the case against Khazaradze and Japaridze has gone beyond the Georgian jurisdiction and that there is now sufficient evidence to take the case to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR).

Two experienced and well-recognized lawyers, Steven Kay QC and Vincent Berger  have now also joined the men’s legal team. 

Speaking at the press conference in Tbilisi, Kay said that TBC Bank is listed in UK at the London Stock Exchange and that Khazaradze and Japaridze “have provided very valuable contribution to the regional economy in Georgia”.

Kay said “their business dealings have been very influential upon the development of Georgia as an independent state.” 

According to Kay,a leading London-based legal expert, the situation which the two businessmen face over “a transaction that occurred 11 years ago” is “highly unusual.” Kay told the journalists that “no criminal proceedings were brought against them as individuals in those 11 years despite ample opportunity for prosecutors, banking regulators or any other inquirers into the affairs of the bank.”

Khazaradze, until recently, had not ventured into politics, preferring to remain in the business world with his role at TBC bank and his plans for the development of a deep-water port at Anaklia. However, his concerns over Georgia’s direction, especially around police violence against Georgian protestors in June, appear to have triggered a move into politics.

Khazaradze himself recently explained: “Events in our country are taking on alarming forms. We are facing deliberate attempts to sow discord and divisiveness in our society and June 20 was a red line. If you are a citizen of this country and your heart beats for it, you can’t just stand and watch all this from a distance.” 

The international community based in Tbilisi have raised concern about the timing of the charges, coming as they did after Khazaradze’s political announcement.

One foreign journalist based in the region told this website: “It’s unlikely to be a coincidence that Khzaradze gets hit with charges after he steps into politics. There are many who believe Georgia is ripe for his ‘En Marche’ style political movement and that he could take on the establishment parties Georgian Dream and the United National Movement.”

It is also argued that Khazaradze’s involvement in the Anaklia port project is another reason for the legal action against him. His role in such a game-changing transit hub would serve to increase his influence inside Georgia, which might have alarmed establishment figures such as Georgian Dream party chairman Bidzina Ivanishvili, it is said.

Georgia’s neighbour Russia is also likely to oppose the port project due to the impact it would have on Russian dominance of regional transportation.

Further comment on the case comes from Fady Asly, chairman of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), who said he is concerned that the charges are “politically motivated”, telling EU Reporter: “The aim of the prosecutor general in seizing Khazaradze and Japaridze’s accounts in Georgia and [attempting to do the same]in the UK, is to cripple them financially so they would fail to complete the construction of the Port of Anaklia, but more importantly to stop them from creating their public movement that could seriously jeopardize Ivanishvili’s unlawful control over the state institutions”, the article said.

Another Influential international publication LondonlovesBusiness also published an article about Khazaradze-Japaridze case:

“The legal team representing the founders of JSC TBC Bank, Mamuka Khazarade and Badri Japaridze, held a press conference in Tbilisi today, stating that they already have enough evidence to bring a case at the European Court of Human Rights regarding the treatment of Khazaradze and Japaridze. The Georgian legal team has been joined by two highly respected international lawyers, Steven Kay QC of Bedford Row Chambers in London and Vincent Berger from Paris.  It is understood they will be closely involved in the case going forward, especially around protecting the interests of Khazaradze and Japaridze abroad.

Georgian lawyer Zviad Kordzadze explained: “The case against Mamuka Khazaradze and Badri Japaridze went well beyond the jurisdiction of Georgia. The prosecution has already filed several petitions with the UK in this regard. At the same time, we already have materials in the case by which we may apply to the European Court of Human Rights Strasbourg. That’s why we involved two very experienced and qualified international lawyers in the case”, Kordzadze explained.

The international community in Tbilisi have voiced their concerns that the case against the two men is politically motivated. The fact that the fraud charges brought against Khazaradze and Japaridze came after Khazaradze’s announcement that he would be forming a new political movement intensified those concerns. The fact that it is an 11-year transaction that has been examined as also aroused suspicion that the case is politically motivated. The UK embassy released a statement on the case, as did the US embassy

As well as fearing the case is politically motivated, alarm has also been raised over the conduct of the Prosecutor General’s Office in the lead-up to a key court date. Khazaradze and Japaridze released a joint statement this week, saying that the Prosecutor’s Office summoned the representatives of the diplomatic community to a closed meeting on September 6, where the findings related to the Khazaradze-Japaridze case, prepared by two international experts hired by the same Office, would be presented.

“The Prosecutor’s Office is trying to shift the responsibility for their politicized decision, which has no legal basis, to the diplomatic corps”, they stated.

The 6 September closed briefing for diplomats was scheduled six days before Mr Khazaradze and Mr Japaridze’s court appearance, which had been set for 12 September. The timing of the meeting had drawn criticism among the international community, who considered the timing deliberate and an opportunity to shape perceptions of the case outside of the proper forum of the court room.

Not long after Mr Khazaradze and Mr Japaridze released their statement, the General Prosecutor’s Office hastily postponed their invitation, suggesting the closed meeting would be at a later date in September due to “logistical reasons”.  In parallel, the two men’s court date was postponed to 10 October, raising concerns that the General Prosecutor’s Office was planning the same “advance preview” for the diplomatic community with a similar window of time before the new court date.

The Prosecutor General’s Office denies that there was to be a closed meeting for the diplomatic community, stating: “As for the information spread by the defendants about the so-called closed meeting scheduled for September 6, we would like to state that no such meeting has been scheduled. The report prepared by highly qualified foreign experts will be introduced to international organizations, diplomatic corps accredited in Georgia and other stakeholders.”