“If I have committed any crime, I am ready to answer for it according to the law,” Tbilisi mayor Kakha Kaladze told reporters at the hospital where he visited a victim of the tragedy in Vake Park, Tbilisi.
Three teenagers were playing with a ball that fell into a fountain. When they tried to retrieve it, all three received a powerful electric shock. A 13 year old girl, Marita Meparishvili, could not be resuscitated. The two other teens were brought to a hospital, where one remains in serious but stable condition.
The mayor expressed his condolences to the families and friends of the victims and said the investigation would identify all those responsible for the crime, and all, without exception, would be held accountable.
Kaladze reported the successful completion of the first phase of the park’s reconstruction the night before the tragic incident, on October 12. At a meeting of the Tbilisi City Hall, he noted that in the course of work, the water supply system had been completely changed, including renovation of the fountain. The mayor confirmed that the fountain was carefully checked before launch.
Deputy Interior Minister Alexander Darakhvelidze made a special statement in connection with the tragedy. The investigation is under article 240 of the criminal code, which outlines violations of safety standards that lead to the death of people. The crime is punishable by imprisonment for four to seven years.
The main contractor is Greenservice LLC. Its founder, Lasha Purtsvanidze, like other employees of the company, is being interrogated by the police. The day before, Purtsvanidze told reporters that he was personally responsible for the proper functioning of the fountain.
Those who carried out the examination of the fountain will also be interrogated.
Greenservice+ LLC carried out work in the park under a contract with the mayor’s office and managed to receive 6,324,286.07 GEL from the state budget, which is 49% of the total cost. And as it turns out, independent investigators have long had questions about this company and its founders.
“Black list” supposed to include Greenservice and its founders
According to the bidding documentation of the Public Procurement Agency, the fountains in Vake Park were last inspected on August 29, 2022. The inspection report, a 533-page document, states that all work had been done as it should, Radio Liberty reports.
In 2018, the NGO Transparency International (Georgia) called on the authorities to create a “black list” of companies and individuals found to be corrupt and fraudulent in order to prevent them from participating in government projects.
Transparency International referred to the recommendations of the Anti-Corruption Network for Eastern Europe and Central Asia. In particular, a scheme is detailed that allows companies at fault to avoid isolation, their owners establishing a new company and participating in bids again and again.
In its report, the organization cites three examples where individuals who were tried in Georgia for serious violations in public procurement again participated in and won public projects. Greenservice is one of those three cases.
Greenservice was responsible for the fountain where the teenager was electrocuted
Corruption cases involving founders of “Greenservice”
In December 2013, the Investigative Service of the Ministry of Finance of Georgia arrested Lasha Purtsvanidze, former head of the central district of Old Tbilisi, and his former deputy, Koba Kharshiladze, on charges of corruption.
Being officials, Purtsvanidze and Kharshiladze established Greenservice LLC in 2007 under the names of their acquaintances, but they were the real owners and managers of the company.
“Greenservice” won five bids for landscaping in the city announced by the municipality. Purtsvanidze and his deputy were members of the bidding commission.
On November 16, 2010, Purtsvanidze and Kharshiladze ceased to be civil servants. They immediately removed the fictitious founders of the business and transferred ownership to themselves, divided equally.
In the same year, they founded another company, Greenservice + LLC.
Until 2013 Greenservice won several more bids, totaling about 8 million lari [about $3 million], including 407,000 lari [about $200,000] in direct purchases.
A year after the indictment, Purtsvanidze cooperated with the investigation and admitted the existence of this scheme. His punishment was a fine. His deputy Kharshiladze was sentenced to two years in prison and fined.
But after that, instead of banning the company convicted of corruption from participating in public procurement, Georgian Dream restored relations with Purtsvanidze.
Since January 2013, Greenservice+, a rebrand noticed by Transparency International, has been participating in public procurement and over the years has earned several million with the support of the state.
