TBC Bank founders meet media, say they respect state institutions and law
TBC Bank founders say that they are cooperating with the law enforcement agencies regarding the money laundering case involving the bank. Photo: IPN.
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Founders of the Georgian leading Bank TBC Mamuka Khazaradze and Badri Japaridze have met journalists in the afternoon amid the controversies related to the money laundering case involving the bank.
Khazaradze and Japaridze, whose withdrawal from the TBC Bank’s supervisory council was demanded by the National Bank of Georgia, claim that they have “all the evidence” that no money laundering took place by them in 2007-2008.
They say that the National Bank’s decisions regarding their withdrawal has been appealed and now “we are waiting for the court verdict.”
We came here today to tell the public, partners, shareholders, employees and all interested sides that we are a strong financial institution, a strong team, and we stand together to achieve ambitious goals. First of all, I say that we respect the state institutions and the law. Respect to the law, transparency and honesty have been the key values of the bank since its establishment,” Khazaradze said.
Georgian state officials denied any connection between the TBC Bank case and the Anaklia project. Photo: bpn.
He said that the bank is “in the dialogue” regime and is eager to find the ways out from the current situation with the National Bank of Georgia to avoid negative influences on the state investment environment and its economy.
Khazaradze and Japaridze strongly dismissed the speculations [by the opposition] that the founder of the Georgian Dream Bidzina Ivanishvili demanded the handover of the TBC bank shares or he [Ivanishvili] was interested in the suspension of the internationally important Anaklia deep sea port project.
Khazaradze, who stated earlier that the “deliberate campaign against him” could be related to the port project, said that it was strange that “on the one hand government stands with us to implement the project and on the other hand the Prosecutor’s Office makes statements before the investigation is over."
He said that a financial agreement is on the verge to be signed with one of the World leading financial institutions regarding the project, and the investigation featuring the bank’s leading figures create serious threats to such a deal.
Khazaradze said if a commission composed of members of local and foreign juridical firms, NGOs and the embassy representatives is created, the bank will give them all the documents proving their innocence in the money laundering case.
The Georgian Prime Minister Mamuka Bakhtadze stated yesterday that the TBC Bank case is not a political issue and called upon public to refrain from political speculations.
He also stated that the case “has nothing to do with the Anaklia project”, which was initiated by the Georgian Dream government.
The Prosecutor's Office says that its Financial Monitoring Service launched a study of financial assets of TBC Bank, its client companies, bank administrators and particular shareholders in May 2018, which revealed that there were “signs of money laundering”.
Georgian Prime Minister Mamuka Bakhtadze has called upon the public to refrain from political speculations regarding the TBC Bank-related case, as the issue is not political.
The National Bank of Georgia (NBG) has demanded the withdrawal of the head of the supervisory council of the Georgian leading TBC bank Mamuka Khazaradze and the deputy head of the council Badri Japaridze from the council due to a money laundering case being investigated by the Georgian Chief Prosecutor’s Office.
Georgian Prime Minister Mamuka Bakhtadze spoke about the TBC Bank case at today’s press briefing, where he said that the questions raised in relation to any individual shareholder will not weaken the bank’s standing.
Founder of the Georgian leading bank TBC Mamuka Khazaradze has announced his resignation from the bank’s supervisory council amid a row related to a money-laundering case involving him and another top banker at TBC, Badri Japaridze.
The price of stocks of the Georgian TBC Bank, whose founder Mamuka Khazaradze announced his resignation earlier today, has started to increase.
Co-founder of TBC Bank Mamuka Khazaradze has demanded the resignation of the head of the National Bank of Georgia Koba Gvenetadze and the creation of an investigation commission regarding the money-laundering case involving top former TBC bankers.
The Georgian Chief Prosecutor’s Office has dismissed a statement made yesterday by TBC Bank founder Mamuka Khazaradze that he had informed prosecutors regarding the“threatening letter” he received from Interior Minister Giorgi Gakharia ahead of the second round of Georgian presidential elections in November 2018.
"The implementation of the project is not in the interests of people who connect the port and other, separate issues [the filing of charge against TBC founders]. We have expressed our full support for the project and done our best for it to be implemented, starting from taking on financial obligations to negotiations with financial institutions and investors,” Bakhtadze said.