Purchase at Midnight

Journalistic Survey

Under psychological oppression, violence and restriction of freedom, properties are revoked from small entrepreneurs in Sighnaghi. Tamar Tarashvili, Manana Macharashvili, Tamaz Gorelishvili and Gela Khelashvili are some of the people who were forced to sell their properties to businessman Bachana Davlianidze.

What, how and when did everything happen? What connection do public officials and representatives of the Investigation Department of the Revenue Service have with the seizing of properties? How was the estate sold after it was sequestered by the Tax Inspection of the Ministry of Finances which supports Davlianidze?

Pillage by the Financial Police  

Tamar Tarashvili lives in Tsotne Dadiani Street # 23 in Sighnaghi. On August 10, 2007 Gia Inanishvili, an attorney for the Sighnaghi Municipality, visited her at her shop located in the center of the town in Aghmashenebli Street # 10. “He told me that I was to sell the space where I was trading clothes. The purchaser was going to pay 300 USD per square meter of the shop. If I refused him, he threatened that I would lose the shop without any reimbursement. I was not surprised to hear such an offer from him, because since the reconstruction started in the town under the Georgian President’s order, many businessmen signed their properties over to the Ministry of Economical Development for various reasons. Gia left my shop without hearing my answer,” said Tamar Tarashvili.

During the following twelve days, Inanishvili tried to receive a reply from Tarashvili. He had to receive replies from many other people who own some spaces close to Tarashvili’s shop.

“On August 15, Gia Inanishvili invited us to his office saying an investor had visited him and wanted to meet all of us in private. We arrived at the Administrative Board to find out who the investor was and what he wanted from us. A certain Tamaz Davlianidze met us in Inanishvili’s quarter. Inanishvili told me that man wanted to buy my shop. I stated I was not going to sell my property because it was the only source of income for my family. Inanishvili got annoyed by my reply and threatened to destroy my shop, because it correspond to the look of the reconstructed town. He said they would send the Financial Police and law enforcers to raid the shop,” said Manana Macharashvili.

On August 22, 2007 at 2:00 PM, a group of thirty people from the Investigation Department of the Revenue Service (the former Financial Police Department) arrived at the shop of Macharashvili; the total space of the shop is 55 square meters. “I inquired on grounds of what documents they visited my shop and they replied they had some information which needed to be checked. They inspected the goods sold on that day; counted the money we had received, verified whether we had recorded it on the cash-register and said they could not find any violations; though they could find any if they wished to find some. To avoid similar misunderstandings I was to sell my shop. I refused them again. One of the visitors threatened to put me in a cell. I was discussing the price of my shop with them. They increased the price from 300 USD to 500 USD.”

Gela Khelashvili owned the shop right next to mine. Representatives of the Financial Police wanted to raid his shop too, but in the evening Gela agreed to sell his shop and policemen did not insist on inspecting the shop anymore,” said Macharashvili.
On the same day, representatives of the Investigation Department of the Revenue Service, headed by Ramaz Nikoleishvili, sealed off a café in Sighnaghi. It must be pointed out that the owners of the café, Lia Ftskialadze and Tina Janiashvili, had not opened the café since 2005. Law enforcers left the shops by 10:00 PM and gave the owners 72 hours to consider selling the shops.

“If You Do Not Sell It We Will Seize it From You and Then Send You to Prison”

On August 23, Tamar Tarashvili, Manana Macharashvili and Tamaz Gorelishvili closed down their shops and handed the documentations over at a local office of the Tax Inspection.

On August 29, Gia Inanishvili invited them to his office again. “He threatened to take us to the office with the help of policemen if we did not meet him on our own,” said Macharashvili. The meeting was arranged, but unlike Tarashvili, Macharashvili did not give in.

Manana Macharashvili

On August 30, Manana Macharashvili’s husband was called to the Administrative Board. Tamaz Gorelishvili was met by the Sighnaghi Municipality Governor, Ramaz Khatiashvili, Gia Inanishvili and Deputy Gubernator of the Kakheti Region, Davit Tsiskarishvil.

Gorelishvili said the officials promised he could gain his former job back if his wife would sell them the shop. Otherwise they would have problems and threatened to imprison them. “If you do not sell the property we will seize it from you; in addition to we will detain you. I was afraid; you know what kind of injustice there is in Georgia. I cannot endure imprisonment and living apart from my family. Thus I gave in,” said Macharashvili’s husband.

Purchase at Midnight

On Friday, August 31 at 4:00 PM, Inanishvili called Tamar Tarashvili and asked to meet him at the shop. He reminded her to take the deed with her. Having arrived at the shop Tarashvili saw other property owners too. Inanishvili offered them to sit in the car of his friend, Vano Begashvili and they went to the local office of the Public Registry. Davlianidze was waiting for them there. Having received all necessary documents, the owners were taken to Sighnaghi Notary Office at approximately 9:00 PM. There, Tamar Tarashvili refused to sign the contract and left the Notary Office despite opposition and threats.

“I fled from the Notary Office, hoping I could think of something before the following weekend and maintain my property. Half an hour, later Inanishvili called me and said he was waiting for me outside. I promised to sign the contract on Monday, but he did not agree with me. He threatened to take the Financial Police to my house and make me sign the document under force. I was afraid and followed him. At the Notary Office I saw the Financial Police. They threatened to start a criminal investigation against me unless I signed the contract. I singed the contract at midnight,” said Tarashvili.

Sequestered Property Is Also Sold

Gia Inanishvili took Manana Macharashvili and Tamaz Gorelishvili to the Sighnaghi Notary Office on September 5. Notary Giorgi Lomashvili demanded the documents of the property to prepare the purchase contract. Manana Macharashvili provided the copies of the notification on property ownership and an extract from the Public Registry records. “Lomashvili demanded the originals of the documents, but Inanishivli and Davlianidze stated the purchase contract should have been signed even though the documents were not original. The Notary acted upon their instructions. Lomashvili asked my husband whether we were selling the property out of our own free will, but we said that we were forced to sell it to the man,” said Macharashvili.

Having signed the purchase contract, Inanishvili took Macharashvili and Gorelishvili to the Sighnaghi office of the Public Registry. The head of the office, Tamaz Burduladze, registered the property to Davlianidze without any problems. However, as we later found out, Gorelishvili’s estate was sequestered under the decision # 067-41 of the Telavi Tax Inspection, dated December 16,2006.

“Both Inanishvili and Davlianidze knew about it. Davlianidze gave most of the sum to Inanishvili, even though he had to give it to us; it was more than five thousand lari and he ordered the representative of the Administrative Board to allocate that money to the budget and cancel sequestration on the property,” said Macharashvili.

Lawyers stated that under the Georgian Tax Code, the sequestered property cannot be sold before the sequestration is canceled.

Tamaz Burduladze

Tamaz Burduladze, the head of the Sighnaghi Registration Service Office within the Public Registry, stated in his conversation with the Human Rights Center that he had no information about the sequestration of Gorelishvili’s property. “Nobody had informed us about the sequestration,” he said. However, the Center got a hold of the notification on the sequestration as well as the leasing of the property. The Tax Inspection had sent both letters to the leaser, Tamaz Gorelishvili, and the Sighnaghi Registration Office.

Businessman Levan Vasadze Supports Davlianidze

 Macharashvili and Gorelishvili got interested in who supported Davlianidze after they sold the property under force. They found out that the man was a representative of businessman Levan Vasadze. They went to the Tbilisi-based enterprise “Bagrationi”, which belongs to Vasadze. Macharashvili told the guard of the office that he was from Sighnaghi and was going to sell his property and wanted to meet the head of their enterprise. “Initially the guard told us that Vasadze was in and could meet us. Later, they told us that if we really were from Sighnaghi, Bachana Davlianidze and Khatiashvili would meet us in the district and arrange everything,” said Macharashvili.

We Have Fault in It

Both Ramaz Khatiashvili and Gia Inanishvili categorically deny the accusations made against them. “Those people, who have some complaints about us, met us personally and urged us to help them to sell their properties; I explained to them that it was not my business.

Gia Inanishvili was the mediator between the property owners and the investor. If he had committed any crime he will definitely be fired. As for Deputy Gubernator of the Kakheti Region, Davit Tsiskarishvili, he observes the current events in Sighnaghi and often visits the town. “I saw the Financial Police enter the shops through the windows of my office. I cannot claim the reason of the raid; the owners might have violated the law,” said Khatiashvili.

Gia Inanishvili also denies the accusations. “Nobody’s properties have been seized. They sold the properties out of their own free will. I simply assisted them,” said Inanishvili.

-Mr. Inanishvili, did they ask you to assist them in selling the properties? 
-No, they did not, but I am a citizen and the Governor of Sighnaghi and I knew about their problems. I really served them by driving them around in my car. As for claims regarding oppression and threats, these claims are false.

-How can you say that? After they refused to sell their shops, you sent the Financial Police to them and then you summoned those people to your office; is this not true?
-No, the Financial Police really raided their shops; though I do not know the reason. We have no fault in it. I do not know Bachana Davlianidze well.

-Did you assist a stranger?
-No, I knew he was Bachana Davlianidze, but I do not know his phone number. I know that he is a private businessman, who runs an organization but I cannot remember the name of it.

Davit Tsiskarishvili did not comment on the situation.

Giorgi Lomashvili, Notary for Sighnaghi, stated that the property owners were not oppressed at all. At least he had not witnessed anything similar in his office. Nevertheless, Lomashvili did not explain why Tamar Tarashvili left his office without signing the purchase contract, why law enforcers were observing the owners of the shop in his office and why the contract was signed at midnight. The Notary avoided to answer those questions by saying his activities were not public and he had the right not to answer our questions. As for the working day of a Notary, it starts at 10:00 AM and finishes at 4:00PM. “When it is necessary we can work at 4:00AM too,” Lomashvili said.

Businessman Bachana Davlianidze does not confirms that he seized the properties. “It is ridiculous to believe such claims. We have not oppressed anybody. Many people are interested in Sighnaghi and I am one of them. I am going to demolish the purchased buildings and build a hotel in their place. However, those people refuse to clear the shops which do not belong to them anymore,” said Davlianidze.

Lawyer’s Comments

“Based on the facts you have mentioned, we can say that the public officials have extorted properties and abused their powers. The right to property and general human rights guaranteed under the Georgian Constitution and international conventions have blatantly been violated in this particular situation. The Prosecutor’s Office should launch an investigation into this case,” said Lawyer Lia Khuroshvili.

Gela Mtivlishvili, Kakheti