Transparency International Georgia has published information on the declarations of public officials who received gifts totaling 12 million GEL.
According to the organization, in January-August 2025, 198 public officials declared receiving gifts in their asset declarations, amounting to a total of 12 million GEL. Among them, 30 officials declared gifts worth a total of 1.8 million GEL in 2024, –
“They received 6.6 million GEL in cash. Gifts also included 76 real estates, 11 vehicles, and 4 firearms. 61% of the gifts (7.5 million GEL) were received from parents. Among high-ranking officials, gifts exceeding 100,000 GEL in value were received by Supreme Court Judge Mamuka Vasadze, Constitutional Court Member Manana Kobakhidze and Members of Parliament Ilia Injia and Guram Macharashvili. Employees of the Ministry of Defense received the largest total value of gifts – 1.5 million GEL. Employees of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and judges received 1.3-1.3 million GEL worth of gifts.
Transparency International Georgia examined the asset declarations of officials who filled out the declarations in January-August 2025. The aim of the study was to determine what gifts they received in 2024.
To prevent illicit enrichment, public officials are obligated to declare any gift received by them or their family members in their asset declarations, if the value exceeds 500 GEL. They are prohibited from accepting any gift that may influence the performance of their official duties or exceeds 5% of their annual salary.
The restrictions do not apply to gifts received by public officials from family members or close relatives. While this exception may seem logical, it also poses a risk: in the absence of proper oversight, it can become a loophole in the law, which dishonest officials may exploit to “launder” income obtained illegally, in other words, to declare income received in violation of the law as a gift from a family member or close relative.
Therefore, it is crucial that in every case where a public official declares a large gift, whether it be a significant amount of money, high-value items, or service, the Anti-Corruption Bureau should investigate whether there may be an attempt to legalize illicit income.
In January-August 2025, around 5,000 public officials submitted asset declarations. These declarations cover gifts received during 2024, and the data reveals that 198 officials received gifts totaling 12 million GEL in value during that year.
Out of 198 officials, 30 have also reported receiving gifts in their 2024 declarations. These individuals received gifts worth a total of 3.3 million GEL in 2023-2024.
Public officials most often receive gifts in the form of cash. In 2024, 127 individuals received a total of up to 16. million GEL, averaging about 52,000 GEL per person. However, the amounts of cash gifts vary, and among them, 20 officials received more than 100,000 GEL each. Additionally, officials declared 76 units of real estate as gifts, of which 33 are residential houses and 43 are land plots. The gifts also included 11 vehicles and 4 firearms.
In cases of cash gifts, the money is often received in US dollars or Euros. In 2024, officials received up to 4.6 million USD and 200,000 EUR.
By total value, 61% of the gifts (7.5 million GEL) were received from parents. Up to 1.8 million GEL worth of money or items were received from children. In total, 1 million GEL was gifted by brothers or sisters, and 621 thousands GEL by relatives.
Public officials from about 66 different institutions received gifts. Employees of the Ministry of Defense of Georgia received the largest total value of gifts – 19 employees received gifts worth a total of 1.5 million GEL. Next is the Ministry of Internal Affairs with gifts worth up to 1.3 million GEL. Judges also received gifts valued at 1.3 million GEL”, reads the information.
Transparency International Georgia: Public officials received gifts totaling 12 million GEL, including Supreme Court Judge Mamuka Vasadze, Constitutional Court Member Manana Kobakhidze, and Members of Parliament Ilia Injia and Guram Macharashvili
