Two days before the Georgian elections, the Investigation Service of the Ministry of Finance of Georgia announced that it had searched three alleged call centers. The Service said that the searches were conducted based on a judge’s decision.
The statement comes after reports of several searches by the Ministry’s Investigation Service. The searches included two employees from the American think tank Atlantic Council, a business process outsourcing company in America, Valeri Tkeshelashvili and stand-up comic Onise Tskhadadze. The official statement from Ministry of Finance did not mention any of the individuals searched, but the investigation into call centres is likely to be related to many, if not all of these searches.
The Ministry’s Investigation Service conducted a raid on the Tbilisi headquarters for Concentrix, an American Fortune 500 business process outsourcing firm. During the search, only managers were allowed in the office. “This big misunderstanding is going to harm Georgia globally,” said the Concentrix representative. The company entered Georgia 2021 and has worked to support foreign investments ever since.
The Investigation Service also searched the home of Valeri Tkeshelashvili’s parents in Kutaisi in western Georgia. Tkeshelarshvili told that the search had to do with the alleged fraud call center case. Tkeshelashvili, however, denies any involvement. He links the search with his oppositional stance. He also claimed that all technical equipment was searched and seized.
Onise Tskhadadze’s house was also searched. His brother claims that the investigators cited Onise’s Tskhadadze’s work at an international company (which he did name) as the reason for a search. He also claimed that all equipment, including laptops belonging to the brothers, was taken.
The Ministry says that the searches are in relation to the call centers already under investigation. However, it adds, “we are dealing on a much bigger scale with finance.” It also states: “In additional, some of those working in these facilities are linked to criminal call centres identified in previous periods.”
The statement reads: “The representatives of Investigation Service arrived on the scene and discovered various types equipment, devices, and documentation containing electronic information. These were seized according to the procedures.”
Reports circulated earlier in the morning about the searches at the homes of two employees of Atlantic Council. Sopo Gelava, and Eto Buzashvili. Their personal belongings, laptops as well as the technical equipment of family members were taken by representatives of the Investigation Service. This case is being investigated in accordance with three different articles of the Criminal Code: money laundering, fraud and tax evasion.
The circumstances suggest all the cases may be related, but their links are still cryptic. “Let’s await the results of the investigation.” The information could be very valuable to the society,” Prime minister Irakli Kobakhidze said earlier in the day.
We are working to find out more information about the cases. The news may have been updated.
Claims of Law Enforcement in Fraudulent Call Center Case Allegedly involving Former Defense Minister who Denies Allegations
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