Usury – main income of the Gurjaani municipality single mandate MP Davit Sungulashvili

Information Center of Kakheti

Majoritarian MP from the Gurjaani municipality Davit Songulashvili gave a loan of 201 300 USD and 641 890 Euro in 2016 and received interest of over 122 000 GEL. Also, on July 6, 2016, he purchased a flat in Tbilisi for 400 000 GEL and a holiday home in Kojori for 120 000 GEL. 

Davit Songulashvili is a majoritarian member of the 9th convocation parliament of Georgia as a candidate of the Georgian Dream – Democratic Georgia from the Gurjaani DEC # 24. He is member of the two parliamentary committees – Committee of the Economics and Economic Policy and Committee of the Procedural Issues and Regulations. He is the member of the Fraction Georgian Dream. 

Davit Songulashvili filled in his recent property declaration on January 18, 2017, which states that he is engaged in business activities too. He owns shares in 8 different companies – Ltd Edresi (59%), Ltd Beleza (100%), Ltd Dry Cleaning Georgia (16,67%), Ltd Vintage 2002 (34%), Ltd Gamsakhurdia 5 (16%), Ltd Progress (50%), Ltd InterGas (30%) and Ltd TAH Georgia (33%). Only two of them are operating now – Ltd Gamsakhurdia 5 and Ltd Edresi. MP Davit Songulashvili received 33 120 GEL from those enterprises in 2016. 

The wife of the MP Ketevan Magularia owns 100% in the Ltd Baby Zoom. Her income from the company in 2016 was 1 780 GEL.

According to the property declaration, Davit Songulashvili receives the main income from usury – he takes loans in foreign currency with low interest and then lends money with high interest.

Namely, on December 17, 2015 he took a loan of 200 000 USD for 7 years from a physical person and on July 6, 2016 he took the loan of 678 200 Euro for 10 years from the same physical person. In 2016, the MP paid 21 523 USD and 33 681 Euro as an interest for the loans.

In the same period, Davit Songulashvili, as a creditor signed 4 loan contracts with physical persons and lent 201 300 USD and 641 890 Euro; in 2016 he received 42 276 USD and 80 000 Euro as interest from the loans.

On December 18, 2015, he lent 145 000 USD (until August 25, 2017) and received 30 376 USD as annual interest from it;

On February 2, 2016, he lent 56 300 USD (until January 10, 2019) and received 11 900 USD as interest from it;

On June 8, 2016, he lent 611 890 Euro (until June 20, 2026) and received 79 845 Euro as annual interest from it;

On October 25, 2016 – he lent 30 000 Euro for three months term (according to the declaration he did not receive any interest from the loan).

It is noteworthy that on July 6, 2016 Davit Songulashvili purchased two estates together – a flat of 336.3 square meters in Vazha Pshavela Avenue in Tbilisi for 400 000 GEL and a holiday home in Kojori for 120 000 GEL.

As the ICK reported, in October 2016, the family and business partners of Davit Songulashvili donated 290 000 GEL to the Georgian Dream – Ltd Gamsakhurdia 5 donated 120 000 GEL; director of the same company Nukri Lipartashvili (cousin of Davit Songulashvili) and second share-holder in the company Ioseb Songulashvili, the brother of the MP, donated 60 000 GEL each. Besides that, the father of the MP Bidzina Songulashvili donated 50 000 GEL to the ruling party. In 2000-2003 he was state attorney of the President of Georgia in Kakheti region.

It is noteworthy that being the president’s attorney in Kakheti region, Bidzina Songulashvili was also occupied by the usury. According to his 2000-2003 property declarations, in 1993-1996 he had lent 26 400 USD based on verbal agreement though he did not receive any income from that.