Georgian Gov’t prevails: Khazaradze and Japaridze to pay $6.5M after Anaklia Port arbitration loss

The Georgian Ministry of Justice on Thursday announced that the leaders of the opposition Lelo party Mamuka Khazaradze and Badri Japaridze lost their arbitration case concerning the Anaklia Port project at the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) in Washington D.C.

In a statement, the Ministry noted that the Washington arbitration tribunal fully satisfied the Georgian Government's claims.

The ICSID, part of the World Bank Group, confirmed that the failure to implement the Anaklia Port project was entirely the responsibility of Mamuka Khazaradze, Badri Japaridze, and their partners. The tribunal found no evidence of obstruction by the Georgian Government.

The arbitration tribunal fully accepted the legal arguments presented by the Georgian Ministry of Justice, determining that:

• The obligation to finance the project rested entirely with the investor, who failed to secure the necessary funds due to their own reasons.
• The investor alone bore the commercial risk of the project.
• The Government’s termination of the contract was lawful: the investor was granted multiple extensions to secure financing for construction. It was established that the state consistently supported the implementation of the Anaklia project during the contract period.
• The criminal proceedings against Khazaradze and Japaridze over money laundering were not deemed unlawful.
• The state did not obstruct the Anaklia Development Consortium in attracting investors, including American investment funds”, the Ministry continued.

In this dispute, Khazaradze and Japaridze's Dutch partner, Bob Meyer, sought $64 million USD. However, the arbitration tribunal rejected all of his claims and instead ordered him to pay $6.5 million to the Georgian Government.

This ruling follows a similar defeat for Khazaradze and Japaridze's Anaklia Consortium against the state in the Paris Arbitration Court exactly one year ago. In that case, the consortium had demanded $1.5 billion from the state budget.

The Paris arbitration also fully rejected the claimants' demands and instead ordered them to pay $650,000 to the state. The Ministry of Justice noted that Khazaradze and Japaridze did not appeal this decision and paid the imposed amount, thereby effectively admitting their culpability for the Anaklia Port project's failure.