Page 64 - BNE_magazine_bne_September 2019

64 I Eurasia bne September 2019
Khazaradze said the money laundering charge is "absurd".
Co-founders of Georgia’s TBC Bank Group step down, prepare to battle money laundering charges bne IntelliNews
company’s corporate unit, TBC Bank JSC, following pressure from the Geor- gian government.
TBC Bank JSC was investigated by Geor- gia’s central bank, the National Bank of Georgia, and the country’s office of public prosecution over transactions in 2007 and 2008. The unit in February said it would pay about Georgian lari 1mn ($345,400) to NBG in relation to the probe.
TBC Bank Group issued a release explaining that the two, as non-exec- utives, were not involved in its day-to- day management. There has been no suggestion of any charges being brought against TBC Bank Group, TBC Bank
or any other member of the group, the press release added.
Khazaradze has alleged that the charge “aims to stop the construction of Anaklia Deep Sea Port”, a $2.5bn project that is Georgia’s flagship infrastructure invest- ment, Agenda.ge reported. It is being developed by TBC Bank in partnership with US partners.
Khazaradze talks of “civic movement”
Apart from developments related to Anaklia port – which lately moved in the right direction when the government extended the deadline for concluding financing for the first phase of the project by six months – Khazaradze has become directly involved in politics.
He announced this month that in September a “civic movement” is to be created that would express support for the anti-government protesters who have occupied Rustaveli square in Tbilisi since June 20. There has been speculation
Georgia’s FTSE 250-listed TBC Bank Group said on July 25 that its chairman Mamuka Khaz- aradze and deputy Badri Japaridze had resigned from its board with immediate effect, a day after prosecutors charged them with money laundering related to transactions that took place more than a decade ago.
“They have both arrived at this decision after careful consideration in order to ensure that the allegations made against them do not affect the Group and to be able to concentrate on refuting those alle- gations,” TBC Bank said in a statement.
Khazaradze and Japaridze co-founded the bank in the early 1990s. Prosecutors announced on July 24 that they have been charged with laundering illegal revenues worth over $16.75mn.
TBC Bank, Georgia’s biggest retail bank, said the duo planned to re-join the board once the claims against them
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were cleared. The board, it said, had “full confidence” in their integrity
TBC shares sank nearly 12% on July 24 after the charges were announced, making it the worst day on record for the stock. They lost another 4.11%
on July 25.
Tbilisi-based TBC Bank dominates the banking industry in Georgia with main competitor Bank of Georgia. It
“Khazaradze has alleged that the charge aims to stop the construction of Anaklia Deep Sea Port”
has named senior independent director Nikoloz Enukidze as its new chairman.
“Absurd” charges
Khazaradze has described the charges against him and his fellow banker “absurd”. Reuters reported in February how they had been forced to leave the
that attacks on the government made
by Khazaradze since last year were prompted by his plans to get into politics.
“The government continues its actions against me and Japaridze which they started in January 2019. The moves by the government have affected us, as well