On September 1, 2021, Batumi City Hall handed over an 8,339 sq.m plot of land, along with the attached autodrome, to Akhali Bulvari LLC for a period of two years, free of charge, with usufruct rights. The company established a karting club on this site and has been conducting its commercial activities unlawfully since September 1, 2023. Alexander Baghaturia, the founder and sole shareholder of Akhali Bulvari LLC, is a political donor. Since 2016, he has contributed 253,000 GEL to Georgian Dream and its supported presidential candidate, including a donation of 15,000 GEL on August 6 of this year. 

The company’s land use agreement expired on September 1, 2023, yet the karting club continues to operate as usual. Furthermore, Akhali Bulvari LLC was registered as a usufruct beneficiary with the National Agency of Public Registry until March 25, 2024. The Batumi City Hall initiated organizational and legal procedures to cancel this registration only after our appeal.

Publicly available sources do not provide documentation confirming the right to use the plot of land and its attached autodrome beyond September 1, 2023. On February 23, 2024, Transparency International Georgia submitted a request to Batumi City Hall, seeking public information and relevant documents regarding usage rights. On March 11, 2024, Batumi City Hall informed us that the right to use the plot of land had expired on September 1, 2023, and that it has remained unused as of March 11, 2024. This response confirmed our suspicion that the political donor’s company unlawfully uses municipal property.

Transparency International Georgia urges the Anti-Corruption Agency of the State Security Service, the Batumi Municipality City Council, and the Internal Audit Service of Batumi City Hall to take actions in accordance with Georgian legislation.