Transparency International Georgia (TI Georgia) continues to scrutinize the economic interests of Viktor Japaridze, the Member of the Parliament from the Georgian Dream party. On October 4, 2022 he left the ruling party and joined [1] the group of MPs that founded a public movement - "People's Power". On the same day, Japaridze purchased [2] a 52% share [3] of PosTV for 520,000 GEL.

Viktor Japaridze and his family members are shareholders of 11 different companies in total, they own a number of properties in Mestia and Tbilisi, including two hotels. The companies related to Viktor Japaridze received 7,775,565 GEL from public procurements. Business partners of Viktor Japaridze, his wife Natia Khvistani and son Otar Japaridze, are major political donors. They donated a total of 533,000 GEL, 468,000 GEL to Georgian Dream and 65,000 GEL to the presidential candidate, Salome Zurabishvili.

For the first time, TI Georgia published a blog [4] on Viktor Japaridze’s economic interests back in 2020. According to the 2021 blog [5], the companies linked to Viktor Japaridze received a state subsidy of 528,150 GEL. Despite the appeals, the relevant state agencies did not take any measures regarding the activities of the companies related to Viktor Japaridze.

This blog represents consolidated information about the companies related to Viktor Japaridze and his family as well as the real estate they own. It also provides information about the political donations and alleged cases of nepotism by the Japaridze family and their business partners.

Business Interests of Viktor Japaridze and his family

Viktor Japaridze

Hotel Posta in Mestia

Viktor Japaridze is a 33,3% shareholder of “Seti+ [6]” LTD. “Seti+” LTD owns a hotel - “Posta Hotel [7]” located in the center of Mestia. “Seti+” LTD has been participating in state procurements since July 2019. The company has already been awarded 38 contracts in simplified procurements with a total value of 292,545 GEL.

Mestia City Hall, the National Tourism Administration of Georgia, noncommercial legal entity – Destination Management Organization Shan-Land, the National Museum of Georgia, and the National Food Agency purchased the hotel, restaurant, and catering services from “Seti+” LTD.

In 2017-2020, “Seti+” LTD received a state subsidy [5] in total of 528,150 GEL. The very first subsidy was granted to “Seti+” LTD under the contract signed on 26 July, 2017 – merely after 12 days of incorporation of the company on 14 July, 2017.

Spouse – Natia Khvistani

Small-scale Hydropower Plant “Dashbashihesi” – Ktsia 92 LTD

Viktor Japaridze’s wife Natia Khvistani is a 6,99% shareholder of Ktsia 94 [8] LTD. The company owns a small-scale hydropower plant (1.25 MW) "Dashbashihesi [9]" located in Tsalka.

According to the asset declarations submitted by Viktor Japaridze in different periods, he received income of 1,810,484 GEL from Ktsia 94 LTD including 164,800 GEL twice - in 2011 and 2013, as a consultant of the company. It is noteworthy that Viktor Japaridze became a member of the Parliament again in 2012. According to the asset declarations submitted by him in 2013 [10] and 2014 [11], he worked as a consultant in Ktsia 94 LTD in 2012 and 2013, and engaged in activities incompatible with being a member of the Parliament.

LTD All Seasons – Hotel under Construction in Mestia

Since June [12] 2018, Natia Khvistani owned first 30% and later a 50% shares of All Seasons LTD. Per deal signed [13] on August 1, 2022, Natia Khvistani sold her 50% shares in the company to Otar Chartolani for 800,000 GEL, who owned the second half of the shares. Chartolani is a longtime business partner of the Japaridze family in various companies.

All Seasons LTD owns a 1,460 sq. m land plot and the four-floor building [14] on Seti square in Mestia, next to the Posta Hotel co-owned by Viktor Japaridze.

It should be noted that in 2015 and 2021, under the decree of the government, All Seasons LTD was twice [15] exempted [16] to pay a penalty for breach of contract imposed by the National Agency of State Property for the late fulfillment of obligations taken under the sale agreement signed on August 23, 2012. In both cases, Irakli Gharibashvili was a Prime Minister of Georgia.

Tir Park Marneuli 2014 LTD

Viktor Japaridze’s wife Natia Khvistani owned a 10% share of “Tir Park Marneuli 2014” LTD from 2013 until June 2018. The company has been operating [17] since 2013 and offers truck parking services [18] near the border (the Red Bridge) in order to organize queues and avoid congestions.

On June 11, 2018, Natia Khvistani sold [19] her share to “Global Trans" LTD for 166,500 USD. Viktor Japaridze did not indicate this information in the asset declaration [20] submitted in December 2019. Pursuant to the law, Viktor Japaridze had an obligation to indicate in the asset declaration the income his wife received from selling the share of the company.

Notably, Victor Japaridze only once - in 2015 – disclosed [21] information on the income (36,988 GEL) received from the company of his wife, Natia Khvistani.

Son – Otar Japaridze

Gas Station in Mestia

“Refill Petroleum Georgia” LTD has a gas station near the Public School N1 in Mestia. The company was registered [22] in October 2020. Initially, Otar Japaridze, a son of Viktor Japaridze, possessed a 50% share of the LTD, another half was owned by Levan Gujejiani who was also a director of the company. On December 25, 2020, Otar Japaridze transferred [23] his share to Levan Gujejiani free of charge, Gujejiani now owns [24] 100% of the company. Despite the change in the owner of the company, "Refill Petroleum Georgia" LTD is registered at the address of Otar Japaridze - Tbilisi, Soprom Mgaloblishvili Street.

From 2021 until today, Mestia City Hall purchased fuel from "Refill Petroleum Georgia" LLC 24 times, and Mestia's cleaning service - once. The total value of the contracts was 324,075 GEL.

Expert House LTD

Otar Japaridze, a son of Viktor Japaridze, also owns a 43% shares of “Expert House [25]” LTD. The company actively participated in public tenders. We wrote about the winning tenders of “Expert House” in a report published [4] in July 2020. As of September 2022, the company has participated in 40 tenders, winning 12 of them with the total value of the contracts amounted to 3,522,705 GEL. Moreover, “Expert House” LTD received 86,189 GEL through the 3 simplified procurement contracts.

TOB Construction LTD

Otar Japaridze is also a 50% shareholder of “TOB Construction [26]” LTD. In 2018, the company participated in the total of two tenders, winning both of them without any competition (ID: GEO180000241 [27], GEO180000181 [28]), in both cases the procuring agency was the State Construction Company [29]. The total value of the contract was 3,635,920 GEL. Otar Japaridze also owns shares of several other companies. According to data [30] of the National Statistics Office of Georgia, the following companies of Otar Japaridze are currently active:

• “Geobitum Plus [31]” LTD – a 50% share. Economic activity – wholesale trade [32] of oil.
• “Shdavleri” LTD – a 70% share. Economic activity – generation [33] of electricity by a thermal power plant.

Daughter – Ekaterine Japaridze

"Avenue 106" - Hotel in Tbilisi

Viktor Japaridze's daughter, Ekaterine Japaridze, is 100% shareholder of "Avenue 106 [34]" LTD. She is the owner of the hotel of the same name that is located in the premises of Natia Khvistani, Viktor Japaridze's wife, on Agmashenebeli Avenue in Tbilisi.

"Avenue 106" LTD participated in public procurement once, Mestia City Hall purchased [35] hotel services in 2020 at a cost of 320 GEL.

Real Estate

The Japaridze Family owns numerous properties in Mestia and Tbilisi. They own eight land plots in Mestia alone, the total area of which is 30,313 square meters. Three land plots have buildings on them, inter alia, "Posta Hotel".

Viktor Japaridze owns:

• 413 sq. m agricultural land plot [36] in Mestia, located on Rustaveli Street.
• 3,653 sq. m. agricultural land plot [37] located in the center of Mestia.
• 692 sq. m. agricultural (homestead) land plot with three buildings of a total 579 sq. m area, on Seti square in Mestia.
• 1,789 sq. m agricultural land plot [38] on Parjiani Street in Mestia.
• 18,224 sq. m agricultural land plot [39] in Mestia, Kakhuri.
• 4,600 sq. m agricultural land plot [40] in Mestia, Legurgula.
• 131.5 sq. m apartment [41] under construction, on Chikovani Street in Tbilisi.

Viktor Japaridze's wife Natia Khvistani owns two apartments [42] and an attic [43] at 106 Agmashenebeli Avenue in Tbilisi, with a total area of 186.54 sq. m. Hotel "Avenue 106" owned by Viktor Japaridze's daughter Ekaterine Japaridze is located at this address.

Viktor Japaridze's son Otar Japaridze owns:

• 226 sq. m land plot [44] with the building of 157.42 sq. m total area [44] on it, on Seti square in Mestia.
• 111.2 sq. m apartment [45] under construction on Tamarashvili Street in Tbilisi.
• 18 sq. m parking lot [46] under construction on Mgaloblishvili Street in Tbilisi.​​
• 197 sq. m land plot [47] with a 570 sq. m are building [47] on it, on Mgaloblishvili Street in Tbilisi.
• 94.5 sq. m apartment [48] under construction on Mgaloblishvili Street in Tbilisi.
• 16 sq. m parking lot [49] under construction on Imedashvili Street in Tbilisi.

Viktor Japaridze's daughter, Ekaterine Japaridze, owns 207 sq. m land plot [50] also on Mgaloblishvili Street.

Political Donations

Viktor Japaridze, his wife Natia Khvistani and the business partners of Viktor Japaridze's son, Otar Japaridze, have made substantial political donations. They donated 533,000 GEL in total. Since 2012, they donated 468,000 GEL to the ruling party "Georgian Dream-Democratic Georgia", and 65,000 GEL to the presidential candidate Salome Zurabishvili in 2018:

• Viktor Japaridze donated [51] a total of 120,000 GEL four times between 2012 and 2017 to the party "Georgian Dream-Democratic Georgia";
• Viktor Japaridze's wife, Natia Khvistani, donated [52] 55,000 GEL to "Georgian Dream-Democratic Georgia" in 2017, and 50,000 GEL to the presidential candidate Salome Zurabishvili in 2018;
• Otar Chartolani - 66.7% shareholder of the "Seti+" LTD, donated 103,000 GEL to "Georgian Dream-Democratic Georgia" twice in 2014-2016 (Otar Chartolani is also a business partner of Victor Japaridze's wife, Natia Khvistani, and son, Otar Japaridze, in the following companies: "Seti [53]" LTD [50% shareholder], "Ktsia 94 [54]" LTD [20.99% shareholder], "Didveli+ [55]" LTD [10% shareholder] and "Oto [56]" LTD [33.3% shareholder].
• Kakhaber Gamisonia, director and 43% shareholder of "Expert House" LTD donated [57] 15,000 GEL to "Georgian Dream-Democratic Georgia" in 2014;
• Murad Jobava, 5% shareholder of "Expert House" LTD, donated [58] 47,000 GEL to the ruling party three times in 2014-2017;
• Otar Mazmishvili, director of "TOB Construction" LTD, donated [59] 20,000 GEL to "Georgian Dream-Democratic Georgia" in 2017;
• Besik Karchava, director of "All Seasons" LTD, donated [60] 20,000 GEL to the "Georgian Dream-Democratic Georgia" in 2020;
• Gia Adamia, director and a 50% shareholder of "Geobitum Plus" LTD, donated [61] 15,000 GEL to the presidential candidate Salome Zurabishvili in 2018, and 20,000 GEL to the "Georgian Dream-Democratic Georgia" in 2020;
• Intigam Ismailov, director of "Ktsia 94" LTD, donated [62] a total of 68,000 GEL to the "Georgian Dream-Democratic Georgia" in 2014 and 2016.

Inaccuracies in the Asset Declaration

In the asset declaration [63] submitted in December 2021, Viktor Japaridze only indicated his wife and one child in the family member section.

He violated two articles of the law: Viktor Japaridze did not disclose in the declaration that he owns 33.3% of shares of the "Seti+ [6]" LTD (Posta Hotel). Posta Hotel operates and according to the 2020 [64] and 2021 [65] reports published on the website of the Service for Accounting, Reporting and Auditing Supervision of the Ministry of Finance, "Seti+" LTD received a total of 2,623,751 GEL revenue in 2019-2021, of which 768,759 GEL was total profit. Consequently, it is likely that Viktor Japaridze has income from the hotel, although he has not declared this information either. It should be noted that Japaridze did not disclose income from "Seti+" in the previous 2020 [66] declaration as well;

• Viktor Japaridze provided a false statement in a real estate listing, as instead of 10 different properties owned by him and his wife, he only disclosed two of them in the declaration. He was bound by the law to include each and every single property in the declaration.

Viktor Japaridze’s relatives in the civil service

Viktor Japaridze’s numerous relatives are employed in civil service. We present to you information about the officials based on the data gathered from various sources:

• Ekaterine Japaridze, Administration of the Government of Georgia, Protocol Service - Viktor Japaridze’s daughter;
• Neli Naveriani, Deputy Mayor of Mestia – wife of Viktor Japaridze’s cousin;
• Maizer Japaridze, Chairman of Mestia City Assembly - Viktor Japaridze’s cousin;
• Sopio Chkhvimiani, Head of Social Service at Mestia City Hall – wife of Viktor Japaridze’s cousin Murtaz Japaridze;
• Zaza Paliani, Head of Commission at Mestia City Assembly – son of Viktor Japaridze’s cousin, Maizer Japaridze’s nephew;
• Tengiz Chartolani, Director of Mestia Municipality LTD "Mestia Hospital-Ambulatory Association" – brother of Viktor Japaridze’s business partner  Otar Chartolani.

Per our information, Otar Japaridze, Viktor Japaridze's son, was employed at the State Security Service until May 2022, after which he was transferred to the Office of the National Security Council of Georgia.

Conclusions and Recommendations

Transparency International Georgia concludes that Viktor Japaridze's activities raise a question about corruption risks, nepotism, or abuse of the MP mandate. Accordingly, we call for:

• Anti-corruption Agency of the State Security Service and the Prosecution Service of Georgia to study participation of companies linked to Viktor Japaridze in the public procurement, and investigate corruption allegations;
• Civil Service Bureau should exceptionally examine information in declarations submitted by MP Viktor Japaridze and in case of the data indicated in the property declarations of Deputy Viktor Japaridze and, in case of inaccurate and/or incomplete disclosure of information, exercise its power under the law.