Question is being asked, whether [Davit] Kezerashvili enjoys certain guarantees of freedom in exchange for funding radical groups in Georgia, his handing over to Georgia by the EU is the only way to dispel these suspicions, writes the Speaker of the Parliament on the social network.

“Recent scandalous revelations about money transfers related to illegal call-centers gave us a clear idea of how our foreign partners, instead of engaging in misplaced moralizing, can help Georgia to shore up existential dangers.

The Prosecutor’s Office of Georgia, in cooperation with their German colleagues (who deserve gratitude from us), uncovered that large streams of money from illegal call-centers, that stripped European pensioners of their savings between 2019 and 2021, were transferred to the private accounts of the fugitive Georgian ex-official Davit Kezerashvili and his immediate family members. Before, the BBC, among others, reported about it in its lengthy investigative story. What BBC reported then, is now confirmed by bank transfers, that it is Mr Offshore, as BBC called him, who is the mastermind of the illegal offshore business.

Criminal origins of this money is only one part of the story. What is important for Georgian democracy is that Kezerashvili himself admitted openly before to owning an opposition TV company in Georgia and also to exercising a firm political and financial control over the opposition United National Movement party.

The crucially important thing is that this illegitimate political funding, from illegal sources, is nowhere to be seen or accounted for. UNM’s illegal funding is an open secret. Our foreign partners are very well aware of this ‘secret’. Moreover, it is well known that Kezerashvili is sentenced to five years in prison for the embezzlement of state funds.

The true paradox of the story is that the fugitive Kezerashvili, despite his crimes now confirmed by European investigative services, continues to enjoy free movement throughout the EU and the UK, and is the leading donor for the radical agenda of Georgia’s radical politicians and media.

In Georgia, a question is being asked more and more often, whether Kezerashvili enjoys certain guarantees of freedom in exchange for funding these radical groups in Georgia. His handing over to Georgian authorities by the EU is the only way to dispel these suspicions”, - writes Shalva Papuashvili.