Georgian Government clarifies ownership history of land near Bazaleti Lake

Georgia’s Government Administration on Tuesday said claims about the purchase of land near Bazaleti Lake by foreign citizens have been taken out of context and relate to a transaction that began nearly two decades ago.

In a statement, the administration’s Strategic Communications Department responded to remarks made during a televised debate last Saturday, when one of the participants, opposition leader Zurab Makharadze, spoke about land near the lake allegedly being purchased by foreign nationals.

The government said the land in question is a non-agricultural plot that was transferred to the Georgian Public Broadcaster by the government in 2006, under the United National Movement Government.

It said the broadcaster sold the land in 2007 to LLC Training Center, a company wholly owned at the time by the Knowledge Fund, a non-profit organisation founded by Kakha Bendukidze, who served as Georgia’s economy minister.

The private owner later sold the plot on 18 December 2019 to LLC Yorktower, the statement said.

The company has since been renamed LLC York Holding Group, and its sole shareholder is currently an Egyptian citizen, the government administration added.