Transparency International Georgia examined the asset declarations of officials who filled out the declarations in January-August 2025. The aim of the study was to determine what gifts they received in 2024.

To prevent illicit enrichment, public officials are obligated to declare any gift received by them or their family members in their asset declarations, if the value exceeds 500 GEL. They are prohibited from accepting any gift that may influence the performance of their official duties or exceeds 5% of their annual salary.

The restrictions do not apply to gifts received by public officials from family members or close relatives. While this exception may seem logical, it also poses a risk: in the absence of proper oversight, it can become a loophole in the law, which dishonest officials may exploit to “launder” income obtained illegally, in other words, to declare income received in violation of the law as a gift from a family member or close relative.

Therefore, it is crucial that in every case where a public official declares a large gift, whether it be a significant amount of money, high-value items, or service, the Anti-Corruption Bureau should investigate whether there may be an attempt to legalize illicit income.

In January-August 2025, around 5,000 public officials submitted asset declarations. These declarations cover gifts received during 2024, and the data reveals that 198 officials received gifts totaling 12 million GEL in value during that year.

Out of 198 officials, 30 have also reported receiving gifts in their 2024 declarations. These individuals received gifts worth a total of 3.3 million GEL in 2023-2024.

Public officials most often receive gifts in the form of cash. In 2024, 127 individuals received a total of up to 16. million GEL, averaging about 52,000 GEL per person. However, the amounts of cash gifts vary, and among them, 20 officials received more than 100,000 GEL each. Additionally, officials declared 76 units of real estate as gifts, of which 33 are residential houses and 43 are land plots. The gifts also included 11 vehicles and 4 firearms.

In cases of cash gifts, the money is often received in US dollars or Euros. In 2024, officials received up to 4.6 million USD and 200,000 EUR.

By total value, 61% of the gifts (7.5 million GEL) were received from parents. Up to 1.8 million GEL worth of money or items were received from children. In total, 1 million GEL was gifted by brothers or sisters, and 621 thousands GEL by relatives.

Public officials from about 66 different institutions received gifts. Employees of the Ministry of Defense of Georgia received the largest total value of gifts  - 19 employees received gifts worth a total of 1.5 million GEL. Next is the Ministry of Internal Affairs with gifts worth up to 1.3 million GEL. Judges also received gifts valued at 1.3 million GEL.

As we mentioned, 30 officials received gifts in 2023 as well. Among them, the largest total of 778 thousand GEL worth of gifts was received by former member of parliament Davit Zilfimiani. Next comes Former Deputy Minister of Justice Buba Lomuashvili receiving 280 thousand GEL worth of gifts. Kaspi Municipality Mayor Vakhtang Maisuradze received gifts worth a total of 188 thousand GEL in 2023-2024.

High-ranking officials who received large gifts in 2024:

●       Supreme Court Judge Mamuka Vasadze - $150,000 from his parents

●       Member of the Constitutional Court Manana Kobakhidze - $44,500 from her son

●       Member of Parliament Ilia Injia - $61,500 from his parents

●       The wife of Member of Parliament Guram Macharashvili - $43,000 from her son

 10 officials who received the most valuable gifts according to their 2024 declarations:

Giorgi Kuchukhidze

(Head of the Financial Management and Analysis Department, Ministry of Education, Science and Youth)

Giorgi Kuchukhidze received 528,142 GEL as a gift from his father.

Giorgi Ghibradze

(Deputy Head of the National Security Service (former))

Giorgi Ghibradze's wife, Tamar Bitsadze, received a $170,000 real estate gift from her mother.

Mamuka Vasadze

(Supreme Court Judge)

Mamuka Vasadze received $150,000 as a gift from his mother. The declaration indicates that he received the gift from his mother as a result of the sale of real estate. At the average exchange rate of the GEL in 2024, Mamuka Vasadze received a gift worth GEL 406,500.

Irakli Shengelia

(Judge of the Tbilisi Court of Appeal)

Irakli Shengelia's wife, Lana Tevzadze, received $150,000 as a gift from Irakli Shengelia. The declaration indicates that the money received from the sale of an apartment. At the average exchange rate of GEL in 2024, the value of the gift is GEL 406,500.

Irakli Shengelia is sanctioned by the US.

Nino Bagashvili

(Head of the Tbilisi Municipality Transport and Urban Development Agency)

Nino Bagashvili received $130,000 as a gift from her parents. At the average exchange rate of GEL in 2024, the value of the gift is GEL 352,300.

Ioseb Chelidze

(Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs until June 2025)

Ioseb Chelidze received three real estate properties worth a total of $123,000 as a gift from his father. At the average exchange rate of GEL in 2024, the value of the gift is GEL 333,300.

Ioseb Chelidze is sanctioned by Estonia, Lithuania, and Latvia.

Levan Tsitaishvili

(Deputy Head of the Nuclear and Radiation Safety Agency)

Levan Tsitaishvili received a house and three plots of land worth a total of $78,500 from his father as a gift. At the average exchange rate of GEL in 2024, the value of the gift is GEL 317,000.

Elguja Undilashvili

(Deputy Chairman of the Dusheti Municipality Council)

Elguja Undilashvili's son, Nika Undilashvili, received an apartment worth 300,000 GEL as a gift from his father. According to the law, gifts transferred between family members must also be declared.

David Onoprishvili

(Head of the Georgian Insurance State Supervision Service)

David Onoprishvili and his son received 5 real estate properties worth a total of 248,000 GEL as a gift. The gift givers are a sister, mother and son.

Kakhaber Esebua

(Deputy Head of the Defense and Security Environment Assessment Division of the Defense Policy and Development Department of the Ministry of Defense)

Kakhaber Esebua received 247,199 GEL as a gift from his mother. The declaration indicates that he received the gift from his mother as a result of the sale of real estate.