Offshore Company Buys Out KazTransGas Tbilisi

Waltbay LTD has purchased KazTransGas Tbilisi. KazTransGas is a Kazakh company that operates in the gas and energy field in several countries. As KazTransGas-Tbilisi LLC, the company managed gas transportation and distribution in Tbilisi. 

News of a potential buy-out was announced last month. Waltbay has mysterious origins. Last month, 1TV reported that information about the company was not available on the Internet. Interpressnews is now reporting that Waltbay LTD is a part of CBS Ltd, a company registered in Georgia. KazTransGas Tbilisi has explained that the purchase of the its shares through an offshore company was meant to simplify the process and promised that Waltbay LTD will handover the shares of KazTransGas Tbilisi to a company registered domestically in the near future.

The government of Georgia and KazTransGas have been involved in international arbitration for several years, a dispute between compensation for more than 486 million GEL in damages claimed by KazTransGas and the government's demand that the company pay its 96 million GEL in debt. Under the conditions of the purchase, KazTransGas - Tbilisi will be relieved of their state debts. In return, Waltbay agreed to settle the arbitration in favor of the government of Georgia.

By Samantha Guthrie

Photo: KazTransGas