Georgian Parliament Speaker slams opposition leaders after defeat in Washington arbitration over Anaklia deep-sea port project

Georgian Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili has attacked opposition figures Mamuka Khazaradze and Badri Japaridze following their defeat at the Washington-based International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) over the failed Anaklia Deep Sea Port project in western Georgia. 

In a social media post on Thursday, Papuashvili said Khazaradze and Japaridze, the co-founders of the domestic TBC Bank who entered politics back in 2019 following the controversy over the project and facing charges with laundering of 16.7 million USD back in 2008, had “failed to build the port and instead turned against their own country.” 

He accused them of financial misconduct and criticised foreign diplomats and politicians who, in his words, “continue to shake their hands,” claiming they were siding with “fraudsters acting against the Georgian people.”

The remarks came after the Ministry of Justice announced that Georgia had won the arbitration case at ICSID, which rejected the claims filed by Bob Meijer, a Dutch investor in the Anaklia Development Consortium (ADC). The tribunal upheld the Georgian government's position, ruling that it had not obstructed the port project and that full responsibility for its failure rested with the investors.

Papuashvili claimed the arbitration had confirmed earlier rulings by national and international courts, including a criminal conviction in Georgia where Khazaradze and Japaridze were sentenced to seven years in prison for a $17 million "banking fraud." He claimed that in the port case, the pair had sought $1.5 billion in damages but were instead ordered to return $7.1 million to the state budget.

“They wasted millions on low-quality lawyers and now stand exposed as frauds,” Papuashvili wrote, further criticising the European political group ALDE (Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe) for accepting Khazaradze and Japaridze as members. He suggested their membership may have been “bought” and challenged ALDE to reconsider its association with them in light of recent legal decisions.

Meanwhile, investor Meijer and the ADC expressed disappointment at the ICSID ruling. In a joint statement this week, they claimed the tribunal considered only a “narrow legal question” - whether the Georgian government was within its rights to terminate the investment agreement under the bilateral treaty with the Netherlands.

Meijer defended the integrity and vision of the consortium, arguing that if the government had supported the project, the port would already be operational, creating jobs and boosting Georgia’s role in global trade.

The ADC also issued a statement criticising the ruling Georgian Dream party for what it described as five years of “empty rhetoric and broken promises” regarding Anaklia. The consortium contended that the termination of the investment agreement in 2020 was politically motivated, and that despite multiple public commitments, the government has yet to sign a new contract or begin construction.

The Anaklia Development Consortium included investors from Georgia, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Bulgaria, and the United States. In 2020, ADC initiated legal action at both ICSID and the International Chamber of Commerce, seeking compensation for what it argued was the Georgian government’s politically driven decision to cancel the project.

Specific procedural details of the arbitration remain confidential.