Sanctioned goods continue to be shipped from Georgia to russia

Drones, computer processors, GPS devices, memory cards, and other dual-use goods continue to be shipped to russia through Georgia, even though the Georgian authorities claim to have closed loopholes to circumvent western sanctions.

This is stated in an investigation by the Georgian publication iFact.

According to the investigation, sanctioned cargo from Georgia to russia comes in two ways: directly or by crossing two or three state borders.

Statistics for 2023-2024 show that dual-use goods worth $10.7 million were exported from Georgia to russia, Armenia, Azerbaijan and Central Asian countries.

Among other things, since last year, exports from Georgia have increased significantly in such goods as radio navigation equipment, electronic integrated circuits, digital data processing units, equipment for receiving and transmitting sound and image, and household appliances.

In Georgia, since 2014, there has been a list of military and dual-use goods whose export and transit requires the permission of the country's Revenue and Duties Service. According to official data, since 2020, only one in ten of the 649 applications for export permits submitted has been approved.

The agency has officially told iFact that it complies with all international norms and sanctions, and exercises strict control at the border. However, the investigation revealed new schemes to circumvent sanctions, which Tbilisi has repeatedly been accused of.

As an example, iFact journalists were able to arrange for drones to be shipped from Tbilisi to Samara through the Kairos Logistics transportation company as part of an experiment. The operator provided a "full guarantee" of delivery, noting that it had already had experience with "sanctioned goods."

Similarly, journalists were able to "send" integrated circuits to russia through the company Cargo Rapido, registered in Georgia by a russian citizen, emphasizing that "sanctions do not bother it".

Georgia refuses to impose sanctions against russia. As recently stated by the Speaker of the Georgian Parliament, Shalva Papuashvili, if his country imposed sanctions against russia, it would mean an escalation to the point of a threat of war.

Source: iFact