Historical record: Around 37,400 companies in Georgia are now owned by Russian citizens

Russian companies in Georgia

The Institute for Development of Freedom of Information (IDFI) reported in its research that the number of companies founded in Georgia by Russian citizens has reached a historical high, now totaling around 37,400.

This accounts for approximately 8.1% of all locally registered companies operating in Georgia.

According to the research, the majority — over 30,000 companies — were registered after February 2022, following Russia’s military invasion of Ukraine and the mass relocation of Russian citizens to Georgia.

However, the actual numbers could be even higher, according to the researchers.

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Key findings of the research

Russian companies are present in all sectors

● Large Russian companies often enter Georgia’s economy through offshore or intermediary companies, making it difficult to determine who is behind them.

● There are cases where the official data does not reflect that some companies are owned by individuals with dual Georgian-Russian citizenship or solely Russian citizenship. This prevents accurate tracking of the number and sectors of Russian-owned companies operating in Georgia.

● Major Russian companies are present in nearly all sectors, including energy, telecommunications, industry, and gambling.

● Of the companies registered by Russian citizens, 20,885 have active status.

● The total number of active companies in Georgia is 257,245, with 8.1% linked to Russia.

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Ownership of companies by individuals with dual Russian-Georgian citizenship

● According to the National Statistics Service, as of June 1, 2024, out of the approximately 37,400 companies owned by Russian citizens, 494 are registered to individuals with dual Georgian-Russian citizenship.

● Among them is LLC “Georgian Dream,” involved in sound recording and publishing. The company is 100% owned by Bera Ivanishvili, the son of Bidzina Ivanishvili, the leader of the ruling party “Georgian Dream” and an oligarch.

According to the latest public registry extract from 2018, Bera Ivanishvili is registered as holding dual citizenship of Georgia and Russia.

● Information about companies involving dual citizens is not fully represented in the database. For instance, the company “K and Georgian Spirit,” owned by Vakhtang Karichashvili and sanctioned by the Ukrainian government, is not listed under this category. Karichashvili holds dual citizenship of Georgia and Russia.

● Companies linked to Vakhtang Karichashvili are actively involved in funding the ruling “Georgian Dream” party, contributing a total of 556,000 GEL (approximately $205,000).

Additionally, the company’s subsidiaries receive millions in state subsidies, primarily for crop procurement. In total, related LLCs have been granted subsidies amounting to 30 million GEL (approximately $11 million).

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● In addition to dual citizens, 6% (2,041 companies) of the companies registered by Russian citizens in Georgia have Georgian citizens as co-founders. For example, 51% of LLC “Zugdidi Road Division” is owned by Russian citizen Alexander Ivanov, 25% by Georgian citizen Soso Sadjaya, and 24% by dual Georgian-Russian citizen Zurab Chanturia.

● 93% of companies are founded by individual entrepreneurs.

Large companies linked to Russia

● 89% of registered active companies are small. Only 0.5% are medium or large companies. However, the economic size of 10.6% of registered enterprises is unknown.

● Large Russian-linked companies registered in Georgia operate in various sectors. For instance, VTB Bank, part of the financial sector, sold its portfolio to other banks after the war in Ukraine began to protect clients from anticipated sanctions.

● LLC “Vivamed” is one of the large companies fully owned by Russian citizen Ali Tanriverdiyev. Established in 2010, it operates medical centers and hospitals across the country. Over time, “Vivamed” has received more than 25.5 million GEL (approximately $9.5 million) from state contracts.

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Mass registration at fake addresses

● Many companies registered by or involving Russian citizens list fake addresses. Dozens of legal addresses have been identified where hundreds of LLCs and individual entrepreneurs are registered simultaneously.

In some cases, up to 1,500 companies are registered at a single legal address.

● Most of these addresses have no buildings at all. The majority of these locations are undeveloped land, with the legal owners primarily being Georgian citizens.