The political “For Georgia” party has requested the General Prosecutor’s Office investigate a possible crime of corruption in “Georgian Manganese”, Mikheil Daushvili announced at a briefing in Parliament.
Daushvili states the company has been managed by a state appointee for almost 7 years, whose authority was extended twice, despite the fact that he was unable to repair the damage caused to the environment or protect the interests of the local population.
Daushvili notes that there is suspicion that the company is managed by private individuals in order to satisfy their personal financial interests.
“The parliamentary team of For Georgia appeals to the General Prosecutor’s Office to start an investigation of Georgian Manganese, which has been operating under a special management regime for almost 7 years. There is a well-founded suspicion about its inefficient management, which violates the legitimate interest of the state and our citizens, as there may be corruption, transactions and embezzlement of large amounts of funds.
“During the years 2009-2016, the original manager of the company grossly violated the legislation and environmental protection requirements, thus causing great harm to the population of Zestafoni and Chiatura, extremely polluting the environment. The damage caused to the environment amounted to more than 416 million GEL.
“In 2012-2016, the sanctions used by the state were not enough, the original managers of the company grossly polluted the environment and violated the law, harmed the interests of the local population, yet the suspension or cancellation of its license would have caused significant harm to the employees of the company. Accordingly, a special administrator was appointed in the company in 2017 on the court’s decision. The task of the special manager was to repair the damage caused by the company to the environment and protect the interests of the local population.
“The special administrator was unable to repair the damage caused to the environment or to protect the interests of the local population, although the term of office of the special administrator was extended by 3 years in 2020, and by an additional 2 years last year.
“The state appointee has been managing the company for almost 7 years and, in reality, the special manager has failed to ensure that the damage caused by the company to the environment and the interests of the local population are protected. Accordingly, there is a well-founded suspicion that the company is managed inefficiently by the special manager appointed by the state, not in the interests of the employees of the enterprise, the local population, environmental protection and the country, but in order to satisfy the personal financial interests of private individuals. Significant corruption risks have also been identified,” Daushvili noted.
