Houses Lost to Loan Sharks

Nona Suvariani, Tbilisi

Instead of borrowed 2 400 USD the victim of the swindle web is demanded to pay 210 thousand USD. Criminal group are operating with almost a sense of impunity – leaving many families homeless with various cons. They are going unpunished. However, there is still hope for justice as some of the victims have directly appealed to the Georgian Prosecutor’s Office for help.

It is reported that there are several criminal groups in Georgia. Nearly fifteen families applied to the Human Rights Center with similar complaints. As far back as 2003 Georgian legislation banned the practice of usury, loaning money at higher than normal interest rates.   Oftentimes the loan agreements are not official and have only been made verbally and with dodgy paperwork. Alternatively, some loans are for one amount and interest rate on paper but an additional sum is required upon early repayment based on a verbal agreement (as a kickback). This can be as high as a 10 to 20 percent added-on to the face value of the loan. However, the legal documents show a much lesser amount of money to be repaid, which is necessary to not violate Georgian legislation.

Nana Asanishvili is one of the victims of the swindler-group. When she in dire need of 2 400 USD she applied to the Mediation Firm “Renome”. There she met Ketevan Adeishvili who later turned out to be the ring leader of the swindle. Instead of the actual amount of the loan 2,400 as actually provided her in USD, the actual documents showed a loan amount of 3,000 USD.

Nana Asanishvili: “She offered that ten percent for the loan be paid early and I had to return the money within two weeks. I did not have to worry she said, even if I could not pay the money back so soon. Naturally I was worried and Adeishvili calmed me down like a friend, saying “the firm would consider it as a new loan.”  However, in this case I had to pay her fee and percent on top of any outstanding percent and the loan amount. They made me pay the percentage in advance. However, I was given an additional 3-5 months to pay off the loan. I paid the percent of 3 thousand USD during 5 months. Finally the loan reached a great sum; I could not pay the initial sum but it had by now totaled 15 thousand USD.”

“Several days before paying the loan Adeishvili called me and said the debtor needed the money immediately and the firm had paid instead of me to him. I was not in Tbilisi and she told me to pay the loan as soon as I arrived in Tbilisi. Having arrived I found out that they had borrowed the money from another debtor. The new debtor asked me to indicate a greater than actual sum in the document than what I had taken from the previous debtor.”

“I was very close to Adeishvili and even I trusted her; thus I did not ask her to annul previous hypothetical documents that were not real. Four-five months later, however, old debtors started calling and demanding payment from me. Why had they not demanded this money before, as I knew that I had paid off the earlier loan? It was clear that there must be some mistake. A year later I found out that Ketevan Adeishvili had not paid debts to anyone. Consequently a criminal case was launched against her. In private conversation she confessed that in fact I did not have such a large debt and she discharged me from some of the loan.

Private phonoscope expertise has confirmed it, and there is also corresponding conclusion of the expertise where Adeishvili personally confessed everything. Before I applied to the police I told her I would provide the law enforcers with all details about the exact sum I had paid. According to the contract in the case of disagreement we had to apply to Private Arbitrary. Having read the complaint to the arbitrary I realized that I had made a business with typical swindler. I appealed to the Prosecutor’s Office with a request to open a criminal investigation.”

Initially, the director of the “Renome” registered the house of Nana Sarishvili and then she registered other debtors. Currently, the victim’s house has sixteen owners. Attorney for Adeishvili and one of the owners of Nana Asanishvili’s house is Giorgi Mamporia, a lawyer and one of the chiefs of the Georgian Labor Party.

Nana Asanishvili reported that on April 10 2007 the police evicted their family from the house without any court decision; they were not allowed to take their personal things from the house. It was raining and the police deliberately threw out their furniture in the street. Nana Asanishvili appealed against those police officers too though the investigation did not succeed like the case connected with swindler’s ring. Although the Prosecutor General’s Office has ordered the police department to start investigation, there has been no result to date.

Elisbar Khachapuridze, lawyer for the Human Rights Center, calls the crime: System of Secret Deals” which is a separate institute under Georgian Civil Law.

“The system works as follows: a person applies to the mediation firm which supports the applicant to take a loan. The borrower is explained that the money does not belong to the firm but to a debtor. In documents the indicated sum is much higher than actual amount of the debt. Besides that the document does not oblige the client to pay percentage. The reason for similar activities is the law which bans to lend money at high percentage. In most cases the percent reaches even as high as 25. It is natural that an applicant cannot pay such a large sum within two weeks and the firm offers another debtor who will pay off his debt. Consequently, the client is forced to pay more and more money and larger sums are indicated in the next round of documents.”  

“It is natural, that an applicant has to sign similar contract despite the fact that you have paid what has already been loaned. Soon the person finds himself in a spot and cannot pay debts. You have no other way but find a new debtor in order to save your house from having to sell out the property. Finally all those people who have lent you the money become the owner of your house and the debt to them reaches an astronomic figure. At last you cannot afford to pay that money though you have not spent them at all. The loaner gets nervous and tries to pay at least one debt. You trust Adeishvili or a mediator and who you lose that money too. In this case, inexperience of the person who borrowed takes a significant role in the success of swindlers because the client trusts the mediator.”

“Consequently, the debt amounts to a colossal sum and finally, unable to pay, the client is now faced with total financial disaster. According to the arbitrary complaint, the Arbitrage Court starts the proceeding. Adeishvili might have taken the money for personal purposes. Consequently, the debtors are demanding the money and the house of Asanishvili is sold off from under and the family evicted.”

Elizbar Khachapuridze speaks about the Human Rights Center’s position: they demand law enforcers to start criminal prosecution immediately and charge every person who is involved in such a criminal racket.