The Revenue Service of the Ministry of Finance of Georgia confirms that Russian fuel was brought into the country by ship but states that neither the vessel nor the cargo is subject to international sanctions.
The information that a ship imported Russian fuel into Georgia was initially shared by one of the leaders of the United National Movement (UNM), Levan Khabeishvili.
What does the Revenue Service say?
“The Revenue Service explains that on August 3 of this year, the Indonesian-flagged ship “CAPIBARA” entered the Batumi seaport, carrying 15,000 tons of diesel fuel intended for import customs procedures, sent from one of the Russian companies to a Georgian company (the agency refrains from naming the names of the companies and disseminating information containing tax secrets).
As a result of the screening carried out by the Maritime Transport Agency of the Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development of Georgia, it was confirmed that the ship and the company owning the ship are not subject to international sanctions. In addition, as a result of the verification by the Revenue Service, it was determined that international sanctions do not apply to the cargo either, since the price of the goods does not exceed the upper limit of the price set by the sanctions. The information is available from open sources.
Based on the above, after the completion of customs control procedures, the cargo was emptied and placed under import procedure in accordance with the legislation,” — the Revenue Service’s statement reads.
What information did Levan Khabeishvili share?
“Ivanishvili doesn’t stop! At this very moment, the oil tanker Capibara is docked at the Port of Batumi, loaded with 15,000 tons of sanctioned diesel of “Газпром нефть” (Gazprom Neft). The supplier is the offshore intermediary company BONEX. Through this scheme and just one shipment, Ivanishvili will earn at least 5 million GEL…” — Khabeishvili wrote, accusing the head of the State Security Service, Anri Okhanashvili, of orchestrating the scheme.
In turn, the Revenue Service accuses Khabeishvili of spreading disinformation.
“Let me remind you that in June 2022, we exposed a similar case, and after it was made public, the ship — which was loaded with sanctioned fuel — urgently left the Port of Batumi and fled,” Khabeishvili stated.
“The Revenue Service of the Ministry of Finance once again emphasizes that the unverified information spread on social networks by the Chairman of the Political Board of the “United National Movement” Levan Khabeishvili (including the alleged “stealing” of a ship loaded with sanctioned fuel from the Batumi port in 2022) is yet another piece of disinformation. This time, Levan Khabeishvili is again deliberately trying to mislead the public with lies,” the Revenue Service wrote.
