Mamuka Khazaradze and Badri Japaridze have lost the arbitration dispute over the Anaklia Port project at the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) in Washington, the Georgian Ministry of Justice stated.
According to the Ministry, the ICSID tribunal fully upheld the Georgian government’s position, confirming that the failure to implement the Anaklia Port project was solely the responsibility of Khazaradze, Japaridze, and their partners. The tribunal also found no evidence of interference by the Georgian government.
“The tribunal fully accepted the legal arguments presented by the Ministry of Justice of Georgia and concluded that the obligation to finance the project rested solely with the investor, who, for his own reasons, failed to secure the necessary funds. The commercial risk was borne entirely by the investor, and the government’s termination of the contract was lawful, as the investor repeatedly missed deadlines to obtain financing for construction.
It was proven that the state consistently supported the Anaklia project throughout the contract period. The legality of the criminal proceedings for money laundering against Mamuka Khazaradze and Badri Japaridze was not questioned, and the state did not obstruct the involvement of investors, including an American investment fund, in the Anaklia Development Consortium,” the statement reads.
The Ministry also noted that Bob Meyer, a Dutch partner of Khazaradze and Japaridze, demanded USD 64 million in the arbitration but had his claims fully rejected. Instead, he was ordered to pay USD 6.5 million to the Georgian government.
“This is the second legal defeat for the Anaklia Development Consortium. One year ago, the consortium also lost a separate arbitration case in Paris, where they sought $1.5 billion from the Georgian state. That tribunal dismissed all claims and ordered them to pay $650,000 to the government. Khazaradze and Japaridze did not appeal the decision and paid the imposed amount, effectively acknowledging that the failure of the Anaklia Port project was due to their own actions,” the statement reads.
