Vano Chkhartishvili Refuses to Give up Federation of Businessmen’s Building

The Federation of Businessmen (FoB) is demanding that Vano Chkhartishvili vacate their building, which he is so far refusing to do.

In 2008, an agreement was signed between the executive director of the Federation of Businessman, Giorgi Isakadze, and Vano Chkhartishvili’s company ‘SG Company.’ According to this agreement, the FoB would give a building located on No.3 Gergeti Street, Tbilisi, to Vano Chkhartishvili. In return, SG company was to build a multi level apartment in which a space worth 728 thousand GEL would be given to the FoB.

In 2015, the FoB asked about the status of the building and it turned out that SG Company had failed to fulfil their duty.

The Federation took the case to Civil Court and demanded that their building be returned to them. For a year the Court has been delaying the review of this case.

On the November 10, the new executive director of the FoB, Tamaz Kapanadze, and the Federation’s lawyer hosted a press conference at the First Radio pressclub.

Georgian Federation of Businessmen was founded in 2004 on the initiative of businessman Badri Patarkatsishvili by three companies, TBC Bank, Agari Sugar and People’s Bank, along with 52 members, including Mamuka Khazaradze, Irakli Rukhadze, Bidzina Ivanishvili, Badri Japaridze, Davit Dumbadze, Temur Chkonia, Aleko Tavartkiladze, Gogi Topadze, Levan Dzneladze, Niko Lekishvili, Nika Ivanishvili, Gia Mikeladze, Shalva Ogbiadze, Zaza Sioridze, Giorgi Mshvidobadze, Giorgi Isakadze, Giorgi Tkemaladze, and Rusudan Kervalishvili.

Is Chkhartishvili going to take Bidzina Ivanishvili’s and other businessmen’s building?

Mr Kapanadze is waiting for justice to prevail and announces that Chkhartishvili has set up his office in the building located at No.3 Gergeti Street: “Given that for eight years Chkhartishvili’s company SG Company hasn’t fulfilled a single duty, today (November 10), we officially sent them a letter asking them to vacate the building.”

We asked Mr Kapanadze if he had had a direct conversation with Vano Chkhartishvili.

“Yes we’ve had discussions, but he told us that the agreement between SG Company and the FoB had expired and thus he isn’t obliged to fulfill the terms of agreement. At the following meeting, he said that he was ready to pay the FoB 700,000 GEL for the building in question. But this offer doesn’t meet the terms of the agreement. The agreement states that SG Company has to give us space, worth 728,00 GEL, at the location where the Federation of Businessmen is registered (No.3 Gergeti Street). But I would also like to say that this term is one-sided, because the given space didn’t cost 728,000 GEL back in 2008 and it certainly isn’t the case now either. Given that these terms were not fulfilled, we demand an abolishment of the agreement and the return of the building. As for Chkhartishvili’s proposal, apart from the fact that it’s amusing, for us it’s disrespectful. This building was initially purchased using the Federation’s own funds, but now as it turns out it has to be given to one businessman for free. Of course, we are hoping on a fair court here in Georgia but if needs be, we’re ready to go to the European Court.”

The FoB lawyer, Gocha Gogishvili, told us that at the beginning of 2016, eight years after signing the agreement, the representatives of the Federation went to court after they were sure that SG Company would not fulfil its duties:

“The FoB demanded the return of property as a way of abolishing the agreement. It has already been a year since the Federation’s lawsuit was taken to court but the case hasn’t even been reviewed yet,” Gogishvili said. “The reason for this is that the cautionary judgment has yet to be confirmed. This is very important for us. When the lawsuit is about a property, it’s logical and necessary that the lawsuit have a cautionary judgment confirmed. The Federation is demanding a cautionary judgment so that SG Company cannot sell or take a mortgage out on the property. We hope that the court won’t delay a cautionary judgment any longer and that the case review will start soon. We also hope that the court will make the right decision, which in this case would be the complete satisfaction of our claim. In any other case, we’ll have a situation where SG Company would receive the Federation’s very expensive property for nothing in exchange.”

Gogishvili went on to say that the First Instance Court declined to make a cautionary judgment. This means that during the court process the property could be sold.

“When we first went to the court, SG Company had a mortgage out on the property from Basis Bank. In July, we found out that the mortgage had been removed, which allowed us to seek what we wanted in the first place. We changed the claim and requested that the FoB be admitted as the owner of the property. Once we had requested a document of ownership, we decided to request a cautionary judgment. Given that the property is disputed, at least until the case is closed, the property should not be sold nor have a mortgage taken on it. Our request was satisfied, in other words SG Company was prohibited from selling the property. The other party objected to this decision and the court satisfied their objection by canceling the cautionary judgment. However, this decision has yet to become effective as we have appealed it in the Appellate Court. According to our appeal, the cancelation of the cautionary judgment was illegal and unfounded.”

Mr. Kapanadze sent a letter to SG Company’s director Mamuka Gviniashvili on November 10 in which he called for the property to be returned to the Federation:

“For the Federation of Businessmen’s property rights, which were violated, to be restored, and in order to avoid long court hearings, we call upon you to return the property located at No.3 Gergeti Street, Tbilisi, to its rightful owner, the Federation of Businessmen.”

Kapanadze says the Federation has many plans and projects to execute. Given that the required conditions are non-existent, the Federation is being obstructed from pursuing its activities. As for those future plans, people will hear about them at the convention of the FoB which will be held in the near future.