How Money Was Collected for National Movement in Khoni

Mari Tabidze, Khoni

On December 31, Levan Bobokhidze, brother of MP Akaki Bobokhidze from minority, was summoned to Imereti regional police at 12:00 pm yesterday. He has been chairing Khoni office of the National Movement since 2003. 

Imereti regional police had summoned Levan Bobokhidze as a witness. He arrived there without a lawyer and his interrogation lasted five hours.

Imereti regional governor Vakhtang Balavadze commented on Bobokhidze’s interrogation: “Repressions against National Movement continues. I mean Bobokhidze’s interrogation today, on December 31. It is psychological oppression on our team-members as Bobokhidze was unlikely to run anywhere in near future.”

Gia Tevdoradze from the parliamentary minority spoke about political oppression too. “It is shame what current government is doing today. It is political oppression and I think it should not continue like that.”

Investigation interrogated chairman of the National Movement’s Khoni office about deducting money from the salaries of local public servants. According to the investigation version, sums were deducted illegally and unofficially, though employees of local governmental bodies still avoid speaking about it. Governors and specialists of all twelve communities were interrogated at Khoni district police several days before.

Having left the interrogation, Levan Bobokhidze told journalists: “The interrogation was carried out in polite and peaceful environment. Investigator had questions about so-called “obshchiak” (illegally collected money usually for senior criminals). He inquired why the money was collected. I would like to clarify that this money was spent on the success of our team and I believe that everybody, who works, shall donate some money to the ruling party. It will be mistake, if Georgian Dream does not do the same. However, I cannot claim that form of money collection was legal. Moreover, I do not care about it at all. The main point was that nobody in Khoni district will ever blame me in not assisting him/her because the collected money was spent on their welfare.”

Bobokhidze did not clarify in his statement how local office of the National Movement spent the money on the welfare of Khoni district population.

According to unofficial information, employees of the Khoni district governmental agencies had been collecting so-called Obshchiak since 2003. The money was to be collected within two days after their salaries were distributed and concrete person was responsible to collect it (his personality is not identified yet). The money-portion for the Obshchiak varied from 30 to 100 lari in accordance to the positions.

Form of distribution of the collected money is also curious. In fact there is no official bank account for the transfer operations. Supposedly, the sum was handed to concrete persons. According to one version, Obshchiak was spent on the welfare of the National Movement’s members, who had lost jobs since 2003 or could not occupy promised positions.

Previous government also got interested in this fact several months ago (before elections) but as Khoni district residents said brothers Bobokhidzes managed to “hush up” this case. Nowadays, investigation was launched into the fact and supposedly other senior officials of Khoni district government will also be interrogated on the issue.