Late Georgian businessman's son accuses former UNM Gov’t’s officials of orchestrating business pressure

At a session of the Georgian Parliament's Temporary Investigative Commission examining alleged crimes committed by the former United National Movement Government between 2003 and 2012, Beso Khardziani, the son of the late businessman Besarion Khardziani, on Friday made serious accusations against Zurab Adeishvili, the wanted former Minister of Justice of Georgia in the former United National Movement Government.

The Commission is reviewing the case concerning the confiscation of property from the late businessman Besarion Khardziani.

This case has drawn significant attention due to the businessman's claims of being forced to give up his assets, and the subsequent violent nature of his death.

In his remarks, Khardziani asserted that Adeishvili was the chief ideologist behind this scheme, describing him as the “top brain” of the former regime.

He stressed that Adeishvili devised strategies to exert pressure on businesses, seizing assets from entrepreneurs like his late father.

“They would confiscate property from businessmen like my father. Some of the money went into the [state] budget, some was shuffled around, and some ended up in private hands. But does it matter where it went? Even if it had been used to benefit the country, taking property from people by force is not right”, Khardziani said.

Khardziani further alleged that the former UNM regime eventually extended these coercive tactics beyond major business figures, targeting even small-scale workers such as bakers and craftsmen.

These accusations shed light on the alleged methods used by the former regime to fund the state and enrich its members.

The parliamentary Commission is expected to continue its investigation and release its findings in the coming months.

In February 2011, Khardziani was arrested on drug-related charges. He was released from prison in December 2012. Khardziani claimed that during his detention, he was coerced into relinquishing his business shares.

On March 28, 2015, Khardziani was assassinated in the entrance of his apartment building in Tbilisi.

The Prosecutor’s Office announced the case as solved in January 2016.

Two individuals were found guilty of orchestrating Khardziani's contract killing: Farid Gurbanov, a Ukrainian citizen, and Oleg Doev, a Russian citizen. The court sentenced both men in absentia to 19 years in prison.