Transparency International believes Georgian authorities "sold" Russians permit to build residential complex
Russians building residential complex in Georgia
According to Transparency International Georgia (TI), there is a possibility that Russian citizens are trying to build a new residential complex near the resort town of Batumi in Georgia.
The organization reports that Russian citizens own a land plot of 16,000 square meters near Batumi. On this site, located on a hill overlooking the port, they plan to build a residential complex called Salibauri Hills. Suspicious circumstances surrounding the project indicate that the Russians, through citizens of Georgia, donated money to the ruling Georgian Dream party shortly after receiving a building permit.
The company in question is H Group Development, 90% of which is owned by Russian citizens Mareta Dolgieva and Magomed Chabiev. Within two weeks, the city council unanimously approved a detailed development plan for the project, according to TI. The latter claims that the short time between the donation and the issuance of the permit raises suspicions that the purpose of the donation may have been to obtain the building permit, and that the donation was made by Georgian citizens associated with the construction raises the suspicion that this money might not have belonged to them, but to Russian citizens who own the construction company.
“According to Georgian legislation, a citizen of a foreign state is prohibited from making a political donation. The Russian owners of the company could not directly donate money to the ruling party, so it is likely that they used Georgian citizens associated with the company to obtain the necessary permission,” a TI statement says.
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The Russian-Ukrainian war radically changed the situation on the real estate market in Georgia. CNBC writes that while many economies are suffering from the impact of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, several countries are benefiting from the flow of Russian migrants, and Georgia is one of them.
According to the publication, along with Armenia and Turkey, Georgia is one of the countries where migrants have caused an economic boom in the background.
The arrival of thousands of citizens of Russia and Belarus especially increased the cost of renting apartments – compared to the same period last year, the rent increased by 210%. The sale price of real estate has also increased.
