MP Volski: No approval for ‘black money’ drants, countering Kos’s calls to bring illegal funds into Georgia

“There is no repression whatsoever. Any grant is permissible, but when you say that a programme is intended to raise awareness in the cultural sphere, you mustn’t use those funds to conduct meetings about training young people on how to confront the police or how to prepare Molotov cocktails,” stated Gia Volski, First Vice-Speaker of Parliament, whilst discussing amendments to the law on grants.

According to him, there are no restrictions on grants whatsoever.

“Past experience has shown us that funds received in the form of grants have been used to develop extremism. If this isn’t the case, why is transparency a problem? Please specify the amount, the sender, and the purpose for which it is being used. There are no other requirements beyond this. Regarding family members transferring money to relatives abroad or individuals receiving an honourarium for their role, these are naturally not subject to regulation; they are both permissible and commendable.

There’s a great deal of speculation surrounding this topic. There will be much more to come, but the fact remains: all grants that serve the country’s development interests are permitted. What is not allowed are those so-called grants which constitute ‘black money,’ the very thing [European Commissioner for Enlargement] Marta Kos speaks about from official platforms when she says, ‘We’re looking for ways to bring black money into Georgia.’ This law has been adopted precisely to counter this,” Gia Volski declared.