Assets owned by Georgia’s billionaire ex-prime minister, Bidzina Ivanishvili – including land, hotels, shopping malls, and a glass palace – were transferred from offshore companies to firms based in Georgia in January, opposition politician Roman Gotsiridze said on Monday.
Gotsiridze claimed the move resulted in a fictitious increase in both GDP and foreign direct investment (FDI).
“In January, VAT turnover increased by 15%, while budget revenue from VAT decreased by 1%. Absurd, right? The 11% GDP growth in January is equally absurd. This increase is fictitious and is the effect of the offshore law on paper”, Gotsiridze said.
He further noted the transfer of assets from offshore accounts to local companies artificially had inflated economic indicators. He pointed to a discrepancy between VAT turnover and budget revenue, as well as the customs clearance of high-value artworks imported by Ivanishvili nearly three years ago. These, he suggested, contributed to a misleading boost in GDP calculations.
“The decrease in the VAT budget against the background of the growth of its total turnover means that VAT increased on goods that were tax-free in the budget. Such is the case with the customs clearance of paintings and sculptures worth up to half a billion dollars, as well as the transfer of property from offshore entities to newly created domestic companies without VAT payments,” Gotsiridze explained.
The opposition politician further argued that the reported economic growth did not reflect actual economic activity.
“In a country where two weeks of January were declared holidays and economic activity was clearly reduced for other reasons, double-digit GDP growth is unrealistic and dictated by political goals”, he added.
