Georgia

  • Allegedly Fixed and Suspicious Matches

    The following information was compiled from court testimony and reports of the Georgian Football Federation investigating allegations of match fixing between 2014 and 2016.

  • Match Fixing Plagues Georgian Football

    In the past three years, investigators say at least 10 matches in the Republic of Georgia's football league have either been fixed or have shown extremely suspicious betting patterns. Thousands of dollars have been wagered online in both Georgia and worldwide on sleepy Second Division matches often attended by fewer than 50 people.

    One of eight Georgian referees arrested for match fixing.One of the eight Georgian referees arrested for match-fixing. Watchdogs say Georgia notorious for throwing matches. (Photo courtesy of Georgian police)

  • Greece: Police Bust Georgian-Dominated Burglary Ring

    Police in Athens said this week they have “managed to dismantle” a foreign crime ring alleged to be behind nearly 140 burglaries in the country since 2010.

  • Georgia: Five Arrested For Attempting to Sell Uranium

    Authorities arrested five men who were charged with trying to sell uranium, just 10 days after police announced arrests in a similar case, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) reported.

  • Georgia: Constitutional Court Says Surveillance Unconstitutional

    Georgia’s Constitutional Court ruled last week for law changes on surveillance, saying the current unrestricted access the security agency has to telecom operator networks is unconstitutional, daily news site civil.ge said.

  • Georgia: Six Arrested for Attempting to Sell $200 Mil in Uranium

    Georgian state security services said Monday they’ve detained six suspects for allegedly trying to sell radioactive uranium-238 for US$ 200 million, local news site Civil.ge said.

  • Credit Suisse Accused in Multimillion Dollar Fraud, $15 Billion Money Laundering

    Swiss prosecutors have charged an ex-Credit Suisse wealth manager with fraud, misappropriation and criminal mismanagement, Bloomberg reported. The bank also faces a money laundering probe in Italy, Reuters said.

  • Land Grab Penalties Forgiven

    The winner of a $182 million land auction was supposed to repair this cable car system from downtown Tbilisi to a hillside lake. The work was never done.A Republic of Georgia government program to sell valuable public land for below-market or token prices to encourage development has turned into a land grab for politically connected individuals who have either not met or significantly negotiated down conditions of the program.

  • Saving Money at a Natural Gas Pump Costs Lives

    cars in lineKoba Jikia was just doing his job, pumping natural gas into cars at a rural filling station in the Republic of Georgia.

    Then a car pulled up that had an illegal, homemade gas cylinder. As the 32-year-old Jikia began filling the tank, it exploded. The force of the explosion was so strong, it blew the tank into Jikia and his arms and legs were ripped from his body and his heart was pushed out through his back.

  • Georgia: Upheaval At Top TV Station As Managers Suspended

    Top management at Rustavi 2, the most popular television station in Georgia, has been ordered by a judge to step down to make way for new interim bosses, but the old bosses say they’re not going anywhere.

    Nika Gvaramia, who until Thursday was the station’s general director, and Kakha Damenia, the chief financial officer, dug in their heels when they learned of the Tbilisi City Court order late Thursday night.

  • Official Car Smuggled Drugs, But Nobody Seemed to Care

    1 arrest areaThe zone just past the border entry from Turkey to Georgia where political operative Kakha Kividze was arrested on narcotics charges.When a Hyundai sedan assigned to the chairman of the Batumi City Council was involved in a middle-of-the-night drug arrest at the Turkey-Georgia border three years ago, the council chairman was allowed to walk away.

  • Turkey: 'Former Erdogan Graft Probe Prosecutors' Flee Country

    Two prosecutors who allegedly oversaw the 2013 Turkish government corruption probe have fled the country only hours before arrest warrants were issued for them.

  • Report: Corruption Choking 5 Eastern European Countries

    A new report by corruption watchdog Transparency International (TI) warns that corruption threatens economic and democratic development in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine.

  • Turkey: Smugglers Caught With Cesium, Gems On Georgian Border

    Border guards at the Sarpi checkpoint between Turkey and Georgia Friday detained two Georgian nationals for allegedly carrying 1.2 kg of cesium, a highly radioactive substance that can be used to build "dirty bombs." 

  • OCCRP Reporter, Two Partners Win Georgia Prizes

    OCCRP reporter Nino Bakradze was among six Republic of Georgia journalists who were honored in the fourth annual Josh Friedman Excellence in Investigative Journalism contest Tuesday.

  • Ukraine: Former President of Georgia Appointed Governor of Odessa Region

    Former president of Georgia Mikheil Saakashvili will give up his Georgian citizenship to take on an appointment as governor of Ukraine’s Odessa region, which he called a “front line” against graft in the region.

  • A Tale of Two Parliaments

    Georgian lawmakers waste millions because they can't even agree on where to meet.

    The Republic of Georgia is not a rich country, so it is hard to fathom why it has spent more than US$ 250 million over the past six years to run two separate Parliament buildings in two cities 200 kilometers apart.

  • Georgia: Man Convicted in Ranger Murder Pardoned

    Davit Mchedlidze, who was convicted in the 2012 murder of a Borjomi National Park ranger, has been pardoned by Republic of Georgia President Giorgi Margvelashvili.

  • Georgia: TI Official Fights Back Against Accusations

    An escalating war of words over the actions of non-governmental organizations in Georgia has turned towards the courts, as the executive director of Transparency International (TI) Georgia announced that she plans to sue for defamation.

  • Diplomas Don’t Make the Grade

    georgia_university For more than 1,200 students in the Republic of Georgia, it sounds like a good deal. Go to school for four years and earn a degree from a university in Ukraine – without ever leaving Georgia.