The Prosecutor’s Office has confirmed that Georgia is being used to evade sanctions for Russians. The scheme was simple—black money coming from Russia was laundered through forged documents, used to purchase euros and dollars, and transferred to European banks through fictitious Georgian companies to buy sanctioned products for Russia, which were then reintroduced to its market via Georgia, wrote Vaso Urushadze, the anti-corruption secretary of the “National Movement,” on social media, commenting on the detention of one individual for the legalization of an unprecedented amount of illicit income—$624 million USD and €35 million.
According to him, “this fraudulent scheme has neither developed the country’s economy nor created new jobs.”
“For years, we have been talking and publishing concrete evidence that Georgia is being used as a third country to evade Western sanctions imposed on Russia. Today, the Georgian Prosecutor’s Office confirmed this. The scheme is simple: presumably, ‘black money’ in the form of cash, Russian rubles, was brought in from Russia. Using forged documents about its origin, this money was laundered, converted into euros and dollars, and transferred to European banks through fictitious Georgian companies to purchase various sanctioned products for the Russian market, which were then reintroduced to Russia via Georgia.
In exchange for protecting this transnational criminal scheme, certain officials undoubtedly enriched themselves. It’s not hard to guess who had such influence between 2022 and 2024. Presumably, the scheme is still operational today, with new patrons and other ‘business’ entities, about which I will share more later.
The fact is, this fraudulent scheme has neither developed the country’s economy nor created new jobs, unless you count a few enriched officials and their family members,” writes Vaso Urushadze.
For reference, the Georgian Prosecutor’s Office, in collaboration with the State Security Service, identified a case of legalization of illicit income amounting to an unprecedented $624 million USD and €35 million, carried out between 2022 and 2024. One individual has been detained on charges of money laundering. The agency does not disclose the detainee’s identity but clarifies that the person is not a well-known public figure.
Vaso Urushadze: The Prosecutor’s Office has confirmed that Georgia is being used to evade sanctions for Russians
