Civil Participation Centre founder questions land deal between Cartu Foundation and Ivanishvili-owned company

Irakli Abesadze, founder of the Civil Participation Centre, has raised concerns over a land purchase by the Cartu Foundation from a company owned by ruling party founder Bidzina Ivanishvili, suggesting the transaction warranted further explanation.

According to publicly available information, Ivanishvili's charitable foundation purchased a 27,714-square-metre plot of land in the western Georgian town of Ozurgeti from one of his companies for 1.3 million lari.

Speaking to journalists, Abesadze questioned how the transaction aligned with the foundation's charitable mission.

"It would be interesting to hear the foundation's explanation of how purchasing this land constitutes charitable activity. It appears more like money donated for charitable purposes has been transferred into Ivanishvili's pocket and to a company he owns," Abesadze said.

He also pointed to what he described as a series of questionable financial transactions involving the foundation, alleging that they had little connection to charitable work.

Abesadze claimed that in recent years nearly half a billion lari had been issued in the form of low-interest loans to construction and hotel businesses owned by Ivanishvili.