Uta Ivanishvili, son of billionaire and former Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili, is no longer the only owner of Cartu Bank. Updated documents submitted to the National Bank of Georgia reveal that his ownership stake has dropped from 100% to 35%.
Cartu Bank is owned by Cartu Fund, which is fully controlled by Cartu Group. Ivanishvili’s reduced stake in the bank shows a corresponding decrease in his ownership of Cartu Group.
As the Public Registry shows, Cartu Group is now owned by three offshore companies registered in the British Virgin Islands: Krista Investments Limited (49.62%), Sargans Limited (49.32%) and Tarpan Management Limited (1.06%). While the registry does not disclose the beneficial owners of these entities, past disclosures listed Ivanishvili as the sole controller, suggesting he previously owned 100% of all three.
The National Bank of Georgia stated that it is not required to approve this type of restructuring unless a new shareholder acquires 10% or more of the bank’s shares. With no new shareholder exceeding the 5% threshold, further disclosure is not obligatory under current regulations.
