Irish Investor Fled From Georgia

Gela Mtivlishvili
Information Center of Kakheti

Irish investor Ciara Rosemarie O'Sullivan blames the Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development of Georgia in breaching her private property rights and requests to return her seized property in Signagi. Before the court process started, the foreign investor sold all other properties which she had purchased in Kakheti.

Ciara Rosemarie O'Sullivan, holding Georgian citizenship, purchased the second floor of the former archive building in Kostava Street in Signagi from Vano Tsabutashvili in 2008.

Vano Tsabutashvili and Irakli Ghvinepadze purchased the building of former archive in Kostava Street in Sighnaghi in April of 2007 on the auction. According to the purchase agreement, the purchaser had to cover the privatization sum within 30 days; to open a beer house in the building, to reconstruct the façade of the building and invest 100 000 GEL in it.

In May of 2007, the officials from the district office of the State Property Registration and Privatization inspected whether the purchaser had implemented the requirements of the agreement. As a result of the examination, they drew up a protocol which states that the building façade was reconstructed and beer house was working in it. The officials of the Ministry of Economic Development prove that the requested 100 000 GEL was timely invested by the purchaser and the privatization sum was also paid within the required time. Property certificate was issued on Gocha Ghvinepadze and Vano Tsabutashvili on May 28, 2007.

Afterwards, Ghvinepadze and Tsabutashvili divided the property. Gvinepadze became owner of the ground floor and the second belonged Tsabutashvili. In 2008, Tsabutashvili sold his property to his sister-in-law, citizen of Ireland and Georgia - Ciara Rosemarie O'Sullivan.

In 2010, the Ministry of Economic Development started administrative proceeding on the abolishment of the purchase agreement between the Ministry and Tsabutashvili-Ghvinepadze. The motive for starting the proceeding was breached agreement by Vano Tsabutashvili; though the document does not indicate which requirement of the agreement was breached by him.

On March 16, the Ministry of Economic Development issued decree on abolishment of the purchase agreement. The Ministry ordered its Kakheti regional office to seize the property and assign it back to the state. Kakheti regional office of the State Property Registration and Privatization requested the Sighnaghi district office of the Public Registration Agency to register the building of the former archive in Kostava Street in Sighnaghi back on the state. The Public Registration Agency satisfied the request.

Lawyer of Ciara Rosemarie O'Sullivan Malkhaz Pataraia clarified that the property was seized from his client and Irakli Gvinepadze without preliminary warning and clarifications.

The Irish investor has been requesting recovery of her property and financial compensation of the damage for two years already. She won the trial at the Signagi district court. The Ministry of Economy appealed against the district court’s judgment. The Tbilisi Appeal Court suspended case discussion because the Ministry launched a new dispute on the same case. Yesterday, the Rustavi City Court satisfied the Ministry’s suit and annulled the April 2007 purchase agreement with Vano Tsabutashvili.

Malkhaz Pataraia clarified that his client is concerned about violation of property rights in Georgia.

“Ciara Rosemarie O'Sullivan states that she did not have a guarantee that the government would not seize the rest of her properties which she had purchased in Georgia to start business. So, she sold everything, including 60 hectares of land in Signagi district. She had serious business plans but she was not allowed to implement them. She is not going to leave the seized property with the Ministry. Maybe, the Ministry successfully seizes properties from the Georgian citizens but my client is Irish Citizen and she is not going to surrender. She does not want even to visit Georgia,” said the lawyer.

The Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development does not comment on the case.