Civil.ge: Paper on Ivanishvili’s Former Confidant Court Case Showcases State Capture by Oligarch

The release of the White Paper on the case of George Bachiashvili has been covered by the news outlet Civil.ge. An excerpt follows below.

The report details the capture of the Georgian judiciary, with a focus in detail on the figure of the former Prosecutor General, Otar Partskhaladze. It cites, in particular the report  by Transparency International-Georgia’s highlighting Partskhaladze’s continued impunity as a prime example of state capture. Partskhaladze is believed to be part of Ivanishvili’s inner circle and has close ties to the Ivanishvili family.

TI-Georgia has traced Partskhaladze’s rapid enrichment after leaving office, including shadowy deals involving Georgian state enterprises, Ivanishvili’s Georgian business projects, and Russian oligarchic economic interests. Partskhaladze’s continued informal influence over the Georgian Prosecutor’s Office speaks volumes about the regime’s commitment to maintaining control over the judiciary, according to the assessments by watchdogs and pundits.

The Georgian Dream Party unilaterally amended the election procedures for the position of Prosecutor General, the report notes, changing the required qualified parliamentary majority to a simple majority.  

In September 2002, the United States government sanctioned Partskhaladze for assisting the Kremlin in exerting “malign influence” on Georgia. The State Department also said that Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) helped Partskhaladze obtain his Russian citizenship and then “used him to influence Georgian society and politics for the benefit of Russia.”