Individuals linked to 10 companies holding gambling licenses donated GEL 1,496,500 to the ruling Georgian Dream party and its former presidential candidate, Salome Zurabishvili, the NGO Transparency International Georgia (TI Georgia) says.
The organization states that 29 donors are current or former shareholders and directors of gambling companies.
TI Georgia says the largest donations came from current and former owners and directors of Europabet (formerly Champions 111), who contributed a total of GEL 740,000 to the ruling party.
“The largest individual donation was made by Lasha Kvachadze, a former 2.5% shareholder in Europabet, who donated GEL 240,000,” the organization says. TI Georgia notes that Kvachadze is involved in the planned Trump Tower project in Tbilisi and was featured in a Studia Monitori investigation into alleged fraudulent online casinos.
The NGO says individuals linked to Orbital LLC donated a combined GEL 445,000. It adds that donors Alexi Modebadze and Aleksandre Tsulukidze were previously associated with Europabet, suggesting a shared business network between the two companies.
TI Georgia also notes that until late last year, 20% of Orbital was owned by Suliko Varsemashvili, a former shareholder of Betlive and Kutaisi 2010, who also owns the company Meama.
The organization further claims that companies owned by Isko Daseni, a member of the Georgian Dream parliamentary faction, and his children, Tital and Kniaz Daseni, hold 10 gambling licenses through Leader-Bonus LLC and Crystal PlusLLC. TI Georgia says individuals associated with these companies donated GEL 136,000 to Georgian Dream.
TI Georgia also points to BetLive LLC, where a 3% stake is owned by Tamaz Kharaidze, the brother-in-law of Bidzina Ivanishvili’s brother, Aleksandre Ivanishvili. The NGO says Kharaidze donated GEL 20,000 to Georgian Dream on March 28, 2019. It adds that Zurab Varsemashvili, described as both a relative and business partner of Suliko Varsemashvili, is also a shareholder in the company.
The organization says Geogrator LLC, another gambling license holder, was previously 50% owned by Giorgi Lomtatidze, a Georgian Dream member of the Batumi City Council and director of the Batumi Tennis Complex. TI Georgia says Lomtatidze donated GEL 5,000 to the ruling party in October 2021 and claims his family later received up to GEL 5 million through public tenders.
TI Georgia says donations from individuals associated with Europabet and Orbital alone totaled GEL 825,000, followed by Kutaisi 2010 LLC (GEL 180,000) and Crystal Plus LLC (GEL 136,000). The organization argues that these figures indicate the gambling sector represents a significant source of funding for the ruling party.
