Omega Group Scandal Sweeps Georgian Headlines
Omega Group is a large Georgian multi-service company. It was established in 1997, and has now expanded into the fields of distribution, printing, importing (the “exclusive importer of BMW group brands in Georgia”), and manufacturing (the “leading cigarette manufacturing company in the Caucasus”). Their website boasts about their role as an employer in the country, and that “As well as contributing considerably to the tax revenue of the Georgian government, Omega Group brings crucial overseas investments into Georgia.”
Recently, the company has been rocked by scandal. It began when the Rustavi 2 news channel released alleged audio recordings of former Minister of Youth and Sports Levan Kipiani and founder of Omega Group Zaza Okuashvili. The recordings seem to be of the two men discussing the embezzlement of Omega Group funds to pay bribes to government officials in order to resolve some 50 million GEL in debt to the Government of Georgia held at that time.
Civil sector representatives immediately demanded that government authorities establish the authenticity of the recordings in a timely manner. “The recordings that were publicized by Rustavi 2 are a major problem for the country. Now it is important to know what the investigation is going to do, and, if the records are authentic, then comes the question of responsibility for specific individuals. It can be said that this is a test for the authorities,” said the head of the Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association, Sulkhan Saladze.
Last Monday, Okuashvili gave an interview from London with Rustavi 2 in which he detailed how, he says, Ivanishvili extorted four million GEL ($1,800,000) from him. Okuashvili also discussed details of two meetings he had at Ivanishvili’s private residence in 2015 or early 2016 where the business ombudsman Giorgi Gakharia (current Minister of Internal Affairs) and Levan Kipiani were both present.
Okuashvili said that he went to meet with Ivaishvili to discuss the potential for receiving some kind of reparations for what he perceived as unfair, politically motivated treatment under the Saakashvili government. Kipiani was at the meeting as a sort of mediator between the government, represented by Ivanishvili and Gakharia, and Okuashvili, representing his private business interests. He claims Kipiani was paid for his services. The first meeting, says Okuashvili, was professional and Ivanishvili seemed supportive and helpful. He was then contacted by Partskhaladze, who informed him that he could resolve his business problems by paying a “contribution” of four million GEL. Okuashvili claims that when he met with Partskhaladze, the latter was under the influence of drugs, as were several members of the military who accompanied him.
Unsure how to proceed, Okuashvili said he contacted Kipiani for advice, who in turn reached out to Giorgi Kvirikashvili, then Prime Minister of Georgia. This allegedly angered Ivanishvili, who ordered Partskhaladze to punish Kipiani, who reports that Partskhaladze and a group of his friends brought Kipiani into a basement, stripped him naked, brutally beat him and threatened him with rape. There are reports that Kipiani attempted suicide after the attack. In his Rustavi 2 interview, Okuashvili corroborated Kipiani’s report of Partskhaladze’s attack with a hidden camera recording of Kipiani recounting the incident soon after it happen – the authenticity of the recording has not been independently verified.
Okuashvili claims he met with Ivanishvili again in late 2016, in a threatening, aggressive manner, Ivanishvili again demanded the four million GEL. Gakharia and Kipiani were both present. Okuashvili believes that Ivanishvili wanted the money to pay party members and other loyalists for their support. Okuashvili paid the bribe. He said he transferred the money to an offshore account registered the day before. Legally, banks are prohibited from allowing cash withdrawal within 24 hours of an account’s registration, but, says Okuashvili, Gakharia, Kipiani, and Partskhaladze all put pressure on the administrators of TBC Bank (specifically Vakhtang Butskhrikidze and Mamuka Khazaradze) to make an exception and they agreed. The four million was withdrawn in cash that day.
Ivanishvili denies almost all of Okuashvili’s allegations. He admits meeting him, but only to try and help Omega Group, which he argues was in financial trouble due to its failure to pay taxes, not political sabotage. Some Georgian Dream officials have criticized it all as a smear campaign meant to derail the party’s likely victory in the presidential elections at the end of the month, or to a last-ditch attempt to try and save the company from its crushing tax debt. Representatives of TBC Bank also deny the transfer described by Okuashvili.
The day after Okuashvili’s interview with Rustavi 2, Kipiani spoke with reporters after leaving a court hearing, saying that the recordings were in fact authentic, but were a performance staged by Okuashvili. Kipiani claimed that Okuashvili needed the recordings to show foreign partners, to maintain their financial support. “I would like to apologize to society and to my family for the circumstances that were created around me. I testified to the court today and would like to shed light on the situation,” he said. Kipiani said that he had in fact been an employee at Omega Group since 2015, not a ‘snitch’ as he was portrayed in the recordings. Kipiani told reporters that the recordings were created for Omega Group internal use only.
“My being a former minister and my background would be convincing for foreigners. Okuashvili would assure foreign partners that his business was being pressured by the Georgian government and his financial liabilities would be postponed,” Kipiani claimed.
On 28 September, the Georgian revenue service announced at a special briefing a court order to put Omega Group assets up for auction to cover its 50 million GEL debt.
By Samantha Guthrie
Photo: Besik Pipia/RIA Novosti
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