A discussion on Georgia was held at the French National Assembly, organized by the France-Georgia Friendship Group.

Eka Gigauri, Executive Director of Transparency International Georgia, addressed the event and spoke about kleptocratic governance, state capture and authoritarian trends in Georgia.

According to Gigauri, corruption in Georgia has become systemic, while public institutions, the judiciary and the prosecutor’s office serve an informal center of power and the interests of Bidzina Ivanishvili.

“The foundation of this system is a captured justice system. The prosecutor’s office and the courts act in a coordinated manner when the target is a political opponent of the government, a journalist, an activist or a representative of civil society. You can torture a protester, impose an enormous fine without evidence, imprison someone for a critical statement, or use chemical substances against them — but if you are a senior official, you will not be punished for it. What kind of system does this remind you of? Probably Russia!” Gigauri said.

The Executive Director of Transparency International Georgia emphasized that the developments in the country go beyond domestic political confrontation and represent a struggle between European democracy and the Russian authoritarian model. She also called on European partners to take concrete steps in response.

Full speech by Eka Gigauri:

The Russian Model of Governance in Georgia: State Capture, Corruption and the Erosion of Democracy

Ladies and gentlemen, thank you very much for discussing the issue of Georgia here in the French National Assembly.

I represent Transparency International Georgia, an organization that for nearly 30 years has investigated corruption, defended citizens, journalists and activists, and monitored elections.

Today, I would like to speak not only about individual corruption offences, but about how corruption in Georgia has turned into a system of governance and what it has in common with the Russian model of governance; how entrenched corruption in Georgia helps advance Russia’s interests and contributes to the dismantling of our state.

As early as 2020, Transparency International Georgia assessed that corruption in the country had taken the form of state capture. This is one of the most severe forms of corrupt governance, in which influential individuals shape politics, laws and economic rules according to their own private interests, while public institutions serve those private political interests rather than society.

Such a system of governance makes it easier for the ruling elite to maintain power. Elections may formally take place and institutions may formally exist, but all of this becomes little more than a façade. The same system also makes it easier to spread propaganda, convince the population of falsehoods and even change the country’s foreign policy course, which, unfortunately, is what we are witnessing in Georgia today.

This is precisely the kind of system that operates in Georgia today: one informal center of power controls the government, parliament, the judiciary, the prosecutor’s office, the security services, regulatory bodies and a significant share of the country’s economic resources. In practice, there is almost no institution left in Georgia capable of resisting the will of Georgian Dream and its founder.

Bidzina Ivanishvili does not need to hold public office in order to exercise influence over the state. His power is based on appointing loyal individuals, distributing state and public financial resources and property, relying on officials enriched through corruption and implicated in other offences, controlling people through intimidation, and ensuring impunity for those in his circle.

As a result, institutions formally exist in Georgia, but they have lost their constitutional function: parliament no longer holds the government accountable; the judiciary no longer protects individuals from political violence; the prosecutor’s office no longer investigates alleged crimes and corruption linked to the authorities; and the security service is used against political opponents, non-governmental organizations and the media.

The Constitutional Court has also been captured — an institution that is supposed to protect the Constitution, human rights and political pluralism. It is currently considering a request by the ruling party to dissolve several major opposition political groups. If these parties are banned, individuals associated with them may also be prohibited from engaging in political activity. In this way, the Constitutional Court may be used not to protect the Constitution, but to legitimize one-party rule.

Over the past five years, our research has documented more than 300 cases of high-level corruption involving senior officials. In most of these cases, no effective investigation has been conducted. A small number of people grow wealthier, while ordinary people remain poor for years.

State property, the budget and public procurement are used to reward political loyalty. Companies linked to the authorities receive contracts, access to resources and state property, after which these businesspeople or individuals associated with them donate money to the ruling party. In this way, citizens’ money is transformed into the economic and political power of the ruling elite.

As a result, the ruling party has approximately three times, and sometimes four or five times, more financial resources than the entire opposition combined. State institutions do not respond to these corruption schemes.

This is no longer merely corruption — it is the use of state resources to maintain the ruling party’s political and financial monopoly. This has all the characteristics of classic kleptocracy.

The foundation of this system is a captured justice system. The prosecutor’s office and the courts act in a coordinated manner when the target is a political opponent of the government, a journalist, an activist or a representative of civil society. You can torture a protester, impose an enormous fine without evidence, imprison someone for a critical statement, or use chemical substances against them — but if you are a senior official, you will not be punished for it. What kind of system does this remind you of? Probably Russia!

The result of captured institutions and a captured justice system is that Georgia now has political prisoners. Transparency International Georgia has individually examined the cases of people detained in connection with protests and has identified 91 individuals as political prisoners under Council of Europe criteria. They include journalist Mzia Amaglobeli, politician and my friend Elene Khoshtaria, as well as actors, doctors, students, businesspeople and other citizens. These are Georgian patriots, decent and law-abiding citizens. Their only crime is loving Georgia.

The electoral administration has also been captured. Formally, elections are administered by the Central Election Commission, but in practice the process is managed by an informal network built around the State Security Service. The methods used by this system include pressure and intimidation of voters, illegal collection of personal data, vote-buying, mobilization of public servants and the use of administrative resources.

State capture is impossible without suppressing critical media and civil society. Critical media outlets are financially strangled, fined and threatened with the loss of their licenses. The adoption of so-called “Russian laws” has also been followed by unprecedented pressure on civil society, including the freezing of organizations’ bank accounts, seizure of personal data and the threat of criminal liability.

My own professional activities have also become the subject of two investigations. Formally, I have the status of a witness, but in Georgia we know very well how quickly a witness can become a defendant. Because of the laws adopted by the authorities and the multifaceted pressure against us, we were forced to close all five physical offices of Transparency International Georgia in the country. Our physical spaces were closed, but our work and our struggle for Georgia’s democratic future did not stop.

Georgia already has hundreds of government representatives and affiliated individuals who have been sanctioned or placed under visa and travel restrictions. They include ministers, members of parliament, judges, prosecutors and senior officials from the police and security services. Bidzina Ivanishvili himself has also been sanctioned by the United States for advancing Russia’s interests on the territory of Georgia.

In addition, two major pro-government television channels, Imedi and POSTV, have been sanctioned by the United Kingdom for spreading targeted disinformation linked to Russia’s war against Ukraine. This demonstrates that their propaganda is not only an instrument of domestic political control — it also serves Russia’s information and strategic interests.

Why do I call this a Russian model of governance?

Because this model is based on the informal power of an oligarch, the destruction of independent institutions, the use of the judiciary and prosecutor’s office as political weapons, the elimination of critical media, the labeling of civil society organizations as “foreign agents,” the portrayal of the West as an enemy, and the merging of corruption and political loyalty into a single system.

This is strategic corruption — corruption that is no longer merely a means of personal enrichment, but a tool for changing the country’s foreign policy course.

It is not necessary for every decision to be the result of a written order received from Moscow. It is enough for the entire model of governance to weaken Georgia, destroy its democratic institutions, distance it from the European Union and increase its dependence on Russia. That is precisely the Kremlin’s strategic interest.

Therefore, the struggle taking place in Georgia is not merely a domestic political confrontation. It is a struggle between European democracy and the Russian authoritarian model.

Despite unprecedented pressure, the Georgian people remain steadfast in this struggle. They can no longer rely on any state institution, but I am convinced that the extraordinary solidarity and civic activism we have demonstrated over the years will not be in vain.

I see the solution first and foremost in the continuation of the Georgian people’s struggle. We do not shift responsibility onto others. We are fighting for our homeland. At the same time, however, this is also a struggle against Russia and for democracy, and it is an issue that requires us to join forces with our friendly states.

Therefore, we need a clear policy from our European partners toward the Russian-style oligarchic governance operating in Georgia: a demand for the immediate release of political prisoners; targeted sanctions against the organizers of state capture, violence and political persecution, as well as against their financial networks; and making cooperation with the Georgian authorities conditional on clear and measurable democratic benchmarks.

The majority of Georgian citizens have made a European choice. Despite the risk of arrest, violence and losing their jobs, people continue to defend that choice.

Our request is simple: do not leave the citizens of Georgia alone against a regime that places state capture, corruption and repression at the service of Russia’s strategic objectives.

We will continue our struggle. We believe that strength lies in unity.

Thank you.