Transparency International: 'Georgian Dream' received $3.6 million in donations in the first three months of 2023"

Donations to “Georgian Dream”

Transparency International Georgia (TI) has published a report detailing donations made to political parties in Georgia from October 1 to December 31, 2023. The report highlights a significant increase in donations to the ruling party “Georgian Dream” over the last three months of 2023, totaling almost 9.5 million lari [approximately $3.6 million], which accounts for 93 percent of all donations received by other parties combined.

Key findings of the report

• All opposition parties received donations totaling up to 700,000 lari [approximately $264,000];

• Donations received by “Georgian Dream” are 13 times greater than those received by all other parties combined;

• “Georgian Dream” received donations from 284 individuals, while all other parties combined received donations from 130 individuals.

Regarding the procurement by companies associated with donors and their participation in state programs, the organization reported that in the second half of last year, 12 companies linked to donors of “Georgian Dream” won tenders worth over 200 million lari [approximately $75.5 million]. Since 2013, these same companies have won tenders worth over 1.7 billion lari [approximately $641 million].

In the second half of 2023, 24 companies associated with donors of “Georgian Dream” received simplified procurement contracts worth 616,000 lari [approximately $232,500], while since 2013, these same companies have received contracts worth over 10 million lari [approximately $3.7 million].

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None of the companies associated with donors of opposition parties won any tenders

TI has established that during the same period, none of the companies associated with donors of opposition parties won any tenders, and three companies received simplified procurement contracts totaling 15,000 lari [approximately $5,600].

According to the study, 26 companies associated with donors of the ruling party received a total of over 22 million lari [approximately $8.3 million] in funding under state agricultural programs in 2017-2021, and five companies received up to 18 million lari [approximately $6.8 million] under the grape harvesting subsidy program.

The report also discusses donations made through third parties:

• In addition to directors and partners of major business groups, donors to the ruling party often include individuals holding positions such as financial director, geologist, mechanic, workshop manager, etc. This circumstance raises suspicions that they are fictitious donors. The real donor is hidden, which violates the law;

• Similar practices were identified regarding donors working in the RMG group, Anagi group, Alliance group, and Next group;

• Donations made by one group over a short period, particularly in connection with LLC “Lilo-Mall,” also raise suspicions of fictitious donations when small shareholders of the company donated large sums to the ruling party on the same day.

“The Anti-Corruption Agency in the fourth quarter of 2023 requested information from the tax service about 350 individuals who were donors to 11 different parties to verify legality. Of these individuals, 175 were donors to the ‘Georgian Dream,’ and 175 were donors to other parties.

According to amendments to the legislation from December 2023, legal entities were prohibited from making donations to parties, and the upper limit of expenses incurred by parties within a year was also reduced. The changes are primarily formal and cannot eliminate financial inequality between the ruling party and other parties,” the Transparency International report says.