“The court dispute initiated by Mamuka Khazaradze and Badri Japaridze against Georgia has concluded with the Georgian government’s victory. The Anaklia Development Consortium has been ordered to pay USD 650 thousand in favour of the government,” Rati Bregadze, Georgian Justice Minister, stated at the briefing.

According to Rati Bregadze, the International Court of Arbitration ruled that the Georgian government terminated the investment agreement lawfully.

“On July 29, the Paris-based International Court of Arbitration shared the ruling with the Georgian government and Anaklia Development Consortium, which declared that the Georgian government won the dispute. The dispute concerned the construction and operation of the Anaklia Deep Sea Port following the investment agreement signed between the Georgian government and the Anaklia Development Consortium on October 3, 2016.

Due to the multiple violations of investment commitments on the part of the investor, the Georgian government was forced to terminate the investment agreement. The plaintiff argued against the lawfulness of the agreement’s termination and claimed compensation of approximately USD 1.5 billion.

The Court of Arbitration fully shared the judicial arguments and evidence submitted by the Georgian Ministry of Justice and has ruled the investor failed to meet the commitments despite the postponement of set terms to seek finances for the construction.

The investor failed to mobilize the financial resources despite committing to finance the project. The investor was responsible for the project’s commercial risks. The government, neither directly nor indirectly, impeded the project’s implementation.

Based on the information provided, the Court of Arbitration has confirmed that the Georgian government lawfully terminated the investment agreement. The claim for compensation of approximately USD 1.5 billion was rejected, and instead, the investor was instructed to pay USD 650 thousand to the government,” said Rati Bregadze.

The Supervisory Board of the Anaklia Development Consortium (ADC) released a statement in response to the award on the arbitration case under the Arbitration Rules of the International Court of Arbitration of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), denying ADC’s claim filed by Mamuka Khazaradze and Badri Japaridze against the Government of Georgia.