Georgia says German ambassador implicated in corruption probe involving opposition politician
The Georgian Revenue Service has announced they are investigating a possible violation related to Peter Fischer, German Ambassador to Georgia, for renting a house owned by Georgian opposition leader Mamuka Khazaradze’s family.
According to the agency, the case concerns a possible attempt to evade tax obligations.
‘Following the information circulated in the public space, a possible tax violation was identified during the analysis of the issue. As a result, the Revenue Service has already launched a fact-finding process, and tax control measures defined by law will be carried out to thoroughly examine the information’, the brief statement released on Monday read.
Pro-government media reported last week that Fischer was renting an apartment from the wife of Lelo party leader Khazaradze. The latter is currently imprisoned for boycotting a Georgian Dream-led parliamentary commission.
The reports said it was unclear whether a formal rental agreement had been signed and whether Khazaradze’s family was paying income tax on the property.
Commenting on the reports, representatives of the ruling Georgian Dream party criticised Fischer. Archil Gorduladze, chair of the parliament’s Legal Affairs Committee, questioned: ‘How can a diplomat rent property from someone involved in politics and then claim to be impartial?’.
On Saturday, lawyers for the Khazaradze family responded to the reports, stating that ‘there is a notarised contract, drawn up in full compliance with legal procedures, regarding the lease of property owned by the Khazaradze family to the German ambassador’.
‘Any undocumented cooperation with the diplomatic representation of [..] Germany is simply impossible!’ they added.
OC Media contacted the German Embassy for comment, but they responded that they do not plan to make a statement on the matter at this time.
Fischer has frequently been the target of harsh reactions from Georgian authorities due to his criticism of the ruling Georgian Dream party’s policies.
On 1 July, Georgian Dream MP Irakli Zarkua proposed expelling foreign ambassadors critical of the Georgian government, with particular emphasis on Fischer.
Mikheil Gvadzabia
