Georgia Capital JSC Admits Failure to Fulfill Investment Obligations
In a statement, Georgia Capital JSC has admitted that it has failed to fulfill its contractual obligation to invest funds in the British-Georgian Academy LLC.
Georgia Capital JSC had a contractual obligation to invest tens of millions of GEL into the construction of two new campuses for the British-Georgian Academy - one in Lisi and the other in Okrokana, with a total capacity of 2,600 students. The payment made by Georgia Capital JSC to purchase shares does not equate to investing in the school’s development.
In its latest statement, Georgia Capital JSC claims that it plans to invest 20 million GEL into the school's development. This has to be taken as nothing more than an empty promise, given that the company has not fulfilled its aforementioned obligation in the past five years. Moreover, the figure of 20 million GEL mentioned in the statement issued by Georgia Education Group LLC (a subsidiary of Georgia Capital JSC) is significantly lower than what was stipulated under the agreement. Simply put, this statement is a feeble attempt to remedy the situation.
It is also worth noting that over the last five years, the British-Georgian Academy LLC has invested 38 million GEL of its own funds into facilities development projects, including spending 3.2 million GEL on the architectural design and construction permits for the Okrokana campus. This particular project has come to a halt due to the fact that Georgia Capital JSC, in breach of the agreement, has failed to invest the Okrokana land into the school's capital. The school has already committed 6 million GEL to this project.
While a civil dispute is ongoing, a team of qualified lawyers is examining potentially criminal aspects of the case, and will present a report thereon in the coming days. Preliminary findings here suggest that Georgia Capital JSC may have committed fraud under Article 180 of the Criminal Code of Georgia, which covers deceitfully obtaining property or property rights. This offense can carry a penalty of imprisonment for up to 10 years.
Once the report has been finalized, the case will be presented to the Chief Prosecutor's Office of Georgia to initiate an investigation, eventually bringing all of the responsible parties to justice.
Statement of Tea Khamkhadze, the lawyer representing the founder and director of the British-Georgian Academy LLC