Finance Minister Says Georgia Leading in Enforcing Sanctions against Russia

Georgian Finance Minister Lasha Khutsishvili said at a news briefing on January 23 that Georgia is one of the leading countries in terms of enforcing international sanctions against Russia.  

He clarified that the Georgian government and the National Bank “strictly control” both financial and trade sectors and have close coordination with American and European partners. “We exchange information on a daily basis,” the Minister stressed.

• 11/07/2022 – Georgia Transshipment Point for Restricted Exports to Russia, says U.S. Report
• 01/05/2022 – Ukraine Says Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan Aid Russia Evade Sanctions

Khutsishvili also noted that the government has constant communication with the bodies and agencies in the European Union, the Great Britain, the United States and other countries, which “control the situation.”  

“This communication, the measures implemented by Georgia clearly demonstrate that our country is committed to the fulfillment of its obligations,” the Minister stressed, adding that the country has received a lot of letters of gratitude for the measures implemented over the past year.  

Asked by the journalist why there are question marks regarding possible violation of sanctions regime by Georgia, the Minister responded that these are mere words having no substantiation, because “there is no evidence” to support such allegations.  

“All customs operations are under strictest control in respect of those goods and persons who are on sanctions list,” Lasha Khutsishvili noted, adding that since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, “more than 1,000 operations were delayed and cancelled by the customs body, because they involved the risks of sanction violation.” 

He continued that in more than 500 cases, the Revenue Service had to clarify that it was impossible to carry out specific operations. “The Customs Department of the Revenue Service cooperates with business operators, importers, other persons involved in these operations to provide information about what is sanctioned and what is not sanctioned,” Minister Khutsishvili said, adding that Georgia already has two certified experts in sanctions enforcement.

Also Read:

• 08/04/2022 – Georgia Not Helping Russia Evade Sanctions, Says PM
• 28/02/2022 – PM: Sanctions Ineffective, Nobody to Stop Bombing of Kyiv

This post is also available in: ქართული (Georgian) Русский (Russian)