As is known, since February 26, 2022, by instruction of the National Bank of Georgia, the financial institutions of Georgia have been fully operating in accordance with restrictive measures - financial sanctions imposed by the USA, the European Union and Great Britain against the Russian Federation.

 

We remind you that the Georgian financial sector operates in full compliance with the requirements stipulated by the sanctions regimes. Georgia has never been and will not become a place to evade sanctions in the future.

 

In this process, there is a first precedent when the sanctions have been applied to a citizen of Georgia.

 

It should be noted that every citizen of Georgia is protected by the Constitution of Georgia. The National Bank of Georgia, guided by the Constitution of Georgia and the presumption of innocence, believes that international sanctions may not be applied to a Georgian citizen, unless there is a guilty verdict in the applicable case against them in the court of Georgia.

 

In order to fully realize the rights and freedoms of the citizens of Georgia guaranteed by the Constitution of Georgia, the National Bank of Georgia has developed and effected an amendment to the Decree of the Governor of the National Bank of Georgia dated August 4, 2023 No.208/04, stating that the sanctions regimes provided for in this regulation apply to the following:

 

a) a citizen of Georgia, if a legally binding judgment of conviction has been issued by the court of Georgia in connection with the basis of the sanctions imposed on them;

b) a legal entity registered in Georgia, the share of which is owned by a sanctioned Georgian citizen(s), if a legally binding judgment of conviction has been issued by a Georgian court in connection with the basis of the sanctions imposed;

 

In the event of detecting signs of crime in the supervision process, the National Bank of Georgia is obliged to immediately inform relevant authorities for further response.

 

The National Bank of Georgia will carefully study and take special control over each potential case and risk of evasion of restrictive measures.

 

The National Bank of Georgia is ready to share details of this decision with international partners.