Georgia’s government moved this week to contain details of its purchases of Russian natural gas after information that officials said was classified appeared on an official state website, was reported by a journalist, and then disappeared — an episode the authorities have attributed to a “suspected cyberattack.”
The information appeared in amendments to a March 2025 government decree governing the purchase and delivery of natural gas by the state-owned Georgian Oil & Gas Corporation. The decree referenced confidential annexes labeled a “commercial secret,” which the independent television channel Formula reported contained details of gas purchases from Gazprom, the Russian energy giant majority-owned by the state.
“Today is January 12; it’s 4:40 p.m., and this decree is still posted on the official website of the Government of Georgia,” said presenter Eliso Jariashvili in a pre-recorded segment aired by Formula.
Although the annexes were blurred in the final broadcast, an earlier teaser released by the channel included what it said was an excerpt referring to purchases from Gazprom. The decree was later removed from the government portal.
Jariashvili told Monitori, OCCRP’s Georgian member center, that she contacted the Government Administration for comment ahead of publication but was told that the information was classified. She said representatives of investigative bodies later contacted her, warning her not to publish the document.
On Thursday, Georgia’s State Security Service announced that it had opened a criminal investigation into what it described as a “suspected cyberattack” and alleged “manipulations” of the government website. The agency said the actions were “aimed at harming Georgia’s state interests by disseminating false information,” and that it had advised media outlets and individuals not to spread the material.
Jariashvili defended her reporting, saying the document had been publicly posted by the government itself. “In a state governed by the rule of law, we have every right to distribute information that has been publicly published,” she told Monitori. She said the decree confirmed that Georgia was “buying more gas from Russia, part of it at higher prices.”
Gazprom said earlier this week that preliminary data showed a 40.4 percent increase in gas exports to Georgia in 2025. OCCRP could not independently verify whether Georgia’s increased purchases were made at higher prices.
Contacted by Monitori, the Government Administration’s strategic communications department said it did not know how classified information had appeared on its website and declined further comment while the investigation is underway. Gazprom did not respond to a request for comment.
