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NEWS
GEORGIA TODAY
JANUARY 17 - 20, 2020
Tbilisi to Compete for European Best Destinations 2020 Title BY BEKA ALEXISHVILI
T
bilisi, Georgia's charming capital, was chosen to participate in the international contest aimed at revealing the best European travel destination through online voting. Georgia now has a chance to win the title of Europe’s Best Travel Destination. The selection is conducted by European Best Destinations, a European organization based in Brussels. The best European destination has been selected since 2009 to promote tourism and culture in Europe, in cooperation with more than 300 partners of tourism offices and the European Destinations of Excellence (EDEN) network created by the European Commission. “Photos taken by eight photographers were selected for the international com-
petition. The voting process began today. Georgia has to compete with London, Paris, Vienna, Rome, Berlin, Prague, Madrid, and so on,” the Mayor of Tbilisi Kakha Kaladze said at a meeting of the municipality government earlier on Wednesday. Voting is open from January 15 to February 5, 2020. The hashtag #votefortbilisi has been put into use to support the city in the competition and the public can cast their votes on: europeanbestdestinations.com/ european-best-destinations-2020/ Votes can be repeated from a single IP address once a week, no registration needed. The Tbilisi Mayor urged the public to vote for Tbilisi. In addition, he thanked the authors of the photos and noted that all available platforms should be used in order to increase the chances of winning and appropriately present the country in the international arena.
Photo courtesy Giorgi Shermazanashvili
'The Great Kremlin Purge' What are Putin's Intentions BY BEKA ALEXISHVILI
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ussian President Vladimir Putin named Tax Service chief Mikhail Mishustin the country's new Prime Minister, The Washington Post
reports. The political move came after Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev resigned alongside the rest of his Cabinet, causing a restructuring that was unquestionably ordered by Putin. The President is believed to be safeguarding his stay in office for another term before fashioning a long-lasting position for himself in the government. Medvedev, Putin’s right-hand man, has served as PM since 2012. He previously served as President to ensure the transition of power would follow the constitutional guidelines, although permanently adhering to Putin and his authority. Putin thanked Medvedev for his work as PM, although he demeaned his ministers, saying they had failed to fulfill their objectives in government, The Associated Press reports. The State Department did not respond with a comment. The bombshell government renovation came after Putin's anticipated constitutional amendments that will fortify the
powers of the PM and Parliament at the expense of the presidency. A switch of power from presidency to parliament could beckon a power shift that has been widely speculated about in Russia.
Putin's criticizers have suggested that he is considering various scenarios to retain control of the country after his presidential term ends in 2024, including the option of becoming prime minister with extended powers, like in 2008
when Putin swapped places with the prime minister to circumvent the constitutional provision mentioned above. "[Putin] outlined a number of fundamental changes to the constitution, significant changes not only to a number
of articles of the constitution, but also to the balance of power as a whole," Medvedev said in his resignation statement, which was publicized on Russian state television. "In this context, it's obvious that we, as the government ... should provide the president of our country with the opportunity to make all the decisions necessary for this. And in these conditions, I believe that it would be right, in accordance with Section 117 of the constitution, [for the government to resign]” Medvedev added. Putin also commented on the commotion surrounding his regimented government ‘purge.’ "I propose ... entrusting the State Duma with the power to approve the candidacy of the Prime Minister, and then, per the prime minister's proposal, [appoint] all deputy prime ministers and federal ministers. […] In this case, the President will be obliged to appoint them, that is, he will not have the right to reject parliament-approved candidacies." Putin stated and confirmed the ordered constitutional reorganization. Alexei Navalny, a Russian opposition leader, said that the "only goal of Putin and his regime [is to remain] the sole leader for life, taking ownership of an entire country, and appropriating wealth to himself and his friends.” Navalny added on twitter that “All those who said that Putin will step away from power in 2024 are idiots (and/or crooks)".
Georgian Ombudsman: No Signs of Money Laundering in TBC Bank Case Continued from page 1 “Following legal analysis, the Amicus Curiae's opinion deals directly with the case of Mamuka Khazaradze and Badri Japaridze. The case materials do not contain the elements necessary for assessing the action as a crime of money laundering," the statement reads. Lomjaria believes that a number of circumstances are necessary for an action to be considered a money laundering crime. According to her, prior to the process of legalizing illicit income, it is necessary to have illegally obtained "black money.” “A predicate crime usually involves
regular, repeated crimes. In the present case, however, it does not appear to involve at least one such repetitive, or at least one pre-existing, predicate offense,” the Public Defender stated. Lomjaria explains that in general, a money laundering scheme consists of three stages. First, money obtained by committing a crime is usually deposited into various bank accounts, after which many petty transfers are carried out so that the controlling authorities can no longer track the origin of the money, and finally the money is returned to the offender's bank account. “According to the case materials, the defendants did not place the money into
various accounts. Nor did they, in order to avoid paying taxes, carry out petty transfers, and in this case, there is no evidence of their having the money returned to their accounts at all,” she said. The document released by the Public Defender’s Office was presented by Khazardze’s lawyer Zviad Kordzadze at the trial of the case at Tbilisi City Court on January 15. When charging Khazaradze and Japaridze last year, the POG said in AprilMay 2008 the TBC Bank gave $17 million to LTDs Samgori M and Samgori Trade as a loan and on the same day the money was placed into the private bank accounts
of Khazaradze and Japaridze. The agency claims that in October-November 2008, so that the companies did not have to start covering the interest rate for the loan, they were given one more year to close the loan, without provision of reason, and on 31 December 2008, the bank wrote off the debt without demanding the real estate provided by the LTDs as a guarantee or the payment of money by the guarantors. The Prosecutor’s Office says in 2012 the bank fully freed the LTDs from the financial obligations, adding later the LTDs were replaced with a company registered offshore, which had no financial actives in Georgia.
Khazaradze and Japaridze claim they were forced to leave the bank, adding that the investigation is “absurd,” aimed at discrediting the bank and affecting the country’s economic image. The two men claim the transaction in 2007-2008 took place within full compliance of the law, and the leading financial institutions confirmed this in their audit. Khazaradze, who is now the head of the opposition Lelo movement, calls the case politically motivated and links it to the Anaklia Port project, which was canceled after the government terminated the contract with Anaklia Development Consortium, where TBC Bank was the leading partner.