President’s Secret Expenditures

Salome Chkheidze

Statements of the chairwoman of Parliamentary Committee for Procedural Issues Irina Imerlishvili caused serious public resonance. On April 17, Irina Imerlishvili stated at the press-conference that huge sums were spent on the purchase of luxurious items for the president, his family members, relatives, acting or former senior officials; the funds were allocated from the budget of the State Special Protection Service (SSPS) and had Top Secret status.

Chairwoman of the Parliamentary Committee for Procedural Issues Irina Imerlishvili said that documents requested from the State Special Protection Service (SSPS) showed misspending of large amount of public funds. Imerlishvili said those documents became available after Top Secret status was removed from SSPS funds. Information sources rapidly spread documents, which showed misspending of funds from the SSPS budget by the president of Georgia at different times.

Top Secret Expenses

President of Georgia paid 2 765 lari for golden necklace and 69 lari for a little lion [Georgian souvenir] from the SSPS budget, which he had presented to Russian journalist Ksenia Sokolova as present in 2010. The documents also show that SSPS allocated 9 598 lari for Ksenia Sokolova’s accommodation in the hotel Radisson Tbilisi.

In 2011 SSPS financial documents also show that the President presented 440 lari necklace and 542 lari jewelry to Ukrainian singer Ioana Melai as a gift.

According to the disclosed documents, SSPS paid 1 599 lari for MP Tina Bokuchava’s Iphone 4S and 140 lari brunch of flowers to singer Tina Buniatashvili.

Based on the President’s order, in 2011, SSPS paid 3 500 lari for cloisonné bracelet at the Gallery Sharden and presented it to the President’s guest Mariam Sajaia.

MP Mariam Sajaia commented on the statement and categorically denied information about having received expensive present from the President.

The documents also show that SSPS funds were not spent only on the gifts for the women; it funded holidays and entertainments of the president, senior officials and their guests.

In summer of 2012 39 206, 50 lari was spent only on the nutrition of the president and his guests in Batumi.

In addition to that, President and Tbilisi City Mayor spent 115 000 lari from the SSPS budget on health spa at Austrian resort.

The budget expenditure documents of the SSPS also show the accommodation expenses for Spain cook. Irina Imerlishvili clarified that state budget spent half million lari on the cook’s service because his monthly salary was 25 000 lari.

The SSPS budget also reflects funds spent on Ukrainian President Iushenko’s visit in Tbilisi sulfur bathroom on April 6, 2011. According to the receipt, 591 lari was spent on the service.

Ukrainian side responded to the statement on the next day. On April 18, newspaper Ukrainskaia Pravda published statement of Iushenko’s spokesperson Irina Vanikova who said that on April 6, 2011 Iushenko was not in Georgia at all; he was working in his party office on that day. The spokesperson clarified that despite the fact, former president of Ukraine is ready to transfer 400 USD to Georgia as a humanitarian aid which was allegedly spent by the Mikheil Saakashvili’s protection service at Tbilisi based bathroom.

SSPS financial documents also show that on November 22, 2011 they paid 6 600 lari for 44 sheep. The sheep were presented to different people in Gurjaani, Atskuri, Keda, Artana and Laliskura on November 23, 2012 [St. George Day] as gifts.

The document, which shows that SSPS funds were spent on the education of the president’s elder son Eduard Saakashvili, caused serious discontent in the society. According to the documents, 14 000 lari was transferred to the Givi Zaldastanishvili American Academy as an educational fee for 2010-2011 school year.

Former head of SSPS Temur Janashia made statement with regard the documents published by Irina Imerlishvili and stated that the SSPS had not “misappropriated even 1 tetri” from the state budget. Janashia claims the expenditures they had made were legal and nobody can ever find misspending of the funds in their documents.