Day: October 23, 2024
Wildberry has started operating in Georgia.
Wildberry, a major Russian company engaged in online sales of various goods and sanctioned for supporting the war against Ukraine, has started operations in Georgia. The ordered products will be delivered to the country through a Georgian franchise company.
Wildberry is an online hypermarket founded in Russia in 2004 by Vladislav and Tatyana Bakalchuk. It is a sort of Russian equivalent of Amazon, selling almost everything, including clothing, cosmetics, food, household appliances, books, and alcohol.
Currently, the company operates in Russia, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Israel.
The company Wildberry and its director have been blacklisted by Ukraine and the European Union member state Poland.
According to Bloomberg, the company’s president, Tatyana Bakalchuk, is working on developing a new online payment system to ease the difficulties faced by Russian banks due to being cut off from SWIFT.
The company is one of the largest taxpayers to the Russian budget.
Earlier, on September 10, it became known that another major Russian online store, Ozon, had started operating in Georgia.
In April 2022, Ozon’s CEO, Alexander Shulgin, was added to the European sanctions list, after which he resigned. In September 2023, it was reported that the EU Court in Luxembourg decided to lift the sanctions against Shulgin.
On October 23, Transparency International Georgia released an updated version of its “Corruption Map.” The new report reveals that since 2013, companies linked to Georgian Dream officials and party founder Bidzina Ivanishvili have won more than GEL 3.280 billion in state tenders in various regions of Georgia, of which almost a third – more than GEL 1.130 billion – was received by the companies in 2024.
“Cases of corruption are increasing in the regions of Georgia, which are acquiring the increasingly uncontrolled character because the relevant structures either do not react to them or do not inform the public when they are interested in these cases,” the watchdog stresses.
The breakdown of money received through suspicious cases by region is as follows:
- Adjara – GEL 933,060,894;
- Samtskhe-Javakheti – GEL 841,145,309;
- Shida Kartli – GEL 427,245,670;
- Kakheti – GEL 442,000,000;
- Imereti, Racha-Lechkhumi – GEL 500,131,038;
- Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti – GEL 138,371,368.
The most prominent figures tied to the cases are:
- Current MPs: Anzor Bolkvadze, Viktor Japaridze;
- Former MPs: Ioseb Makrakhidze, Enzel Mkoyan, Jumber Izoria, Sergo Khabuliani;
- Municipality Mayors: Mayor of Senaki, Vakhtang Gadelia; Mayor of Zugdidi, Mamuka Tsotsoria; Mayor of Chkhorotsku, Davit Gogua; former Mayor of Akhaltsikhe, Zaza Melikidze.
- GD MP candidate: businessman Giorgi Chkonia.
The report further summarizes a number of suspicious tenders and simplified procurements that TI Georgia has investigated at various times. The organization has officially submitted these findings to the relevant state authorities, urging them to address the potential corruption revealed in these procurements.
“The abundance and magnitude of corruption facts give the feeling that the enrichment of privileged individuals at the expense of the people has been given a green light in the country,” notes the watchdog.
The organization also notes that these companies receive large state procurement contracts and later donate money to the Georgian Dream party, “creating a system of state capture and kleptocratic rule in the country.”
Read the report in detail here.
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