EPRC: Wildberries expansion poses significant risks for Georgia

According to the Economic Policy Research Center (EPRC), the expansion of the Russian online platform Wildberries in Georgia poses significant risks for the country.

The centre makes this assessment in a new report examining the threats that Wildberries-related activities could pose to Georgian brands represented on the platform, consumers, Georgian banks and Georgia’s economic and financial system as a whole.

Wildberries is an online marketplace often described as “Russia’s Amazon”.

According to EPRC, at least eight Wildberries warehouses were put out of operation by Ukrainian strikes in late August 2026, while more than 20 facilities were damaged. During the same period, part of the company’s financial ecosystem, Wildberries Bank, was placed under international sanctions.

The centre says that, while Wildberries’ warehouse infrastructure in Russia became a target for Ukrainian drones and the company’s banking arm was placed on a sanctions list, Wildberries used Georgia and other neighbouring countries to expand its trading network and logistics capabilities.

EPRC predicts that, as a result, Georgia could become part of a regional infrastructure helping a company linked to the Kremlin and sanctioned Russian businesses reduce losses caused by the war and sanctions.

The report notes that Wildberries’ official infrastructure in Georgia includes warehouses, sorting centres and collection points. According to the company’s instructions, updated on 4 June 2026, Georgian sellers can choose a warehouse or sorting centre and review the conditions for accepting products, logistics rates, sorting times and delivery times to consumers.

According to EPRC, this indicates that the company’s activities in Georgia are no longer limited to collection points. Local infrastructure is also being used to receive, sort and subsequently deliver products. However, open sources do not currently confirm the existence of a large logistics centre in Georgia. A similar situation exists in Azerbaijan.

"Delete it, or we'll cut off your hands" – threats to a JAMnews editor over criticism of Wildberries

The police in Georgia have opened a case, while journalists have initiated their own investigation

According to the report, information spread in September 2025 that local businesses had been given the opportunity to sell their products directly through the Wildberries platform.

EPRC also publishes what it believes is an incomplete list of Georgian brands available on the platform. The centre explains that finding a complete list is difficult because Wildberries does not allow users to search for brands by country of origin.

At this stage, the list of Georgian products and brands on the platform is believed to include Borjomi, Nabeghlavi, Natakhtari, Zedazeni, Gurieli, Kula, Badagoni, Chateau Mukhrani, Askaneli, Sarajishvili, MACH & MACH, ANOUKI and Aleksandre Akhalkatsishvili.

EPRC stresses that Wildberries operates as a marketplace. The presence of a particular product on the platform does not automatically mean that the manufacturer or an official brand representative is selling it directly. The product may be listed either by the manufacturer or by an independent reseller.

According to the centre, if an independent retailer sells the product, the brand may restrict those sales by protecting its intellectual property or using contractual mechanisms.

In EPRC’s assessment, Wildberries’ expansion in Georgia is no longer solely a matter of developing online trade. The centre identifies several major risks.

In particular, the report says Wildberries is linked to Russia’s trading and financial system, and its ties to the Kremlin have also been confirmed. The company’s financial arm, Wildberries Bank, has been placed under UK and EU sanctions. According to EPRC, the sanctions are linked to the bank’s role in financially supporting the military and the Russian authorities’ aggressive interests.

The centre also says the Wildberries platform is used to purchase goods needed by the Russian military, including military equipment and dual-use goods. According to EPRC, independent journalistic investigations have also confirmed this.

Sanctions against IDS Ukraine: Georgian stake could become 'casualty' of nationalisation of Ukrainian company

The Ukrainian authorities are seeking to take control of IDS Ukraine, 34.83% of which is owned by the family of the late Georgian businessman Badri Patarkatsishvili.

Against this backdrop, the report’s authors question the effectiveness of controls over the trade and export of such products in Georgia. In their assessment, this increases the risk that sanctioned goods or dual-use items could enter or be re-exported through the country.

EPRC pays particular attention to the development of Wildberries’ logistics capabilities in Georgia. The centre believes that, after a significant part of the company’s warehouse network in Russia was damaged, infrastructure outside Russia has become even more important to Wildberries. Georgia could therefore become part of the company’s regional diversification network.

The report also describes the growing integration of Georgian businesses into the Wildberries system. Products from Georgian brands are already sold on the platform, and Georgian entrepreneurs can join it as direct sellers. EPRC believes this creates both reputational and potential financial risks for companies in the future.

According to the centre, Georgia’s financial sector is also at risk. Wildberries Bank came under UK and EU sanctions in 2026, while 5% of the bank is also owned by the sanctioned Russian bank VTB.

EPRC says that the fact that customers in Georgia pay for purchases on Wildberries using Georgian bank cards means that the local banking sector must comply with the sanctions regime and carry out additional transaction checks. According to the centre, after sanctions were imposed on Wildberries Bank, the National Bank of Georgia shifted responsibility to individual financial institutions, explaining that each bank must assess the risks of violating or circumventing sanctions independently.

In EPRC’s assessment, given these circumstances, the development in Georgia of infrastructure linked to a sanctioned financial institution, a business close to the Kremlin and a platform used to supply the Russian military cannot simply be viewed as foreign investment or the expansion of retail trade.

The centre suggests that if Wildberries continues to expand in Georgia without state oversight or proper customs and financial monitoring, and Georgian companies and banks deepen their cooperation with the platform, the country could become part of an economic and logistics network that helps Russian businesses continue operating amid war and international sanctions.

EPRC believes that such a process could have long-term economic and reputational consequences for Georgia.

EPRC on the risks posed by Wildberries in Georgia