Georgia

New Documents

The National Bank of Georgia released a summary of its 2021 enforcement actions in the financial sector.

The National Bank of Georgia and the USAID Economic Security Program held an international conference on digital currency and decentralized finance on May 4-5, 2022, in Tbilisi, Georgia, to raise awareness and facilitate dialogue on digital finance and fintech issues.

Enforcement Actions

The Georgia National Bank highlighted two monetary penalties totaling ₾15,000 against two currency exchange operators for anti-money laundering and counterterrorist financing noncompliance.

The National Bank of Georgia imposed a fine of ₾64,000 on the Tbilisi, Georgi-based bank for noncompliance with its anti-money laundering and counterterrorist financing obligations.


Important Facts

  • The U.S. State Department labels Georgia as a major money laundering country. Much of the illicit proceeds in Georgia are derived from bank fraud and cybercrime. Due to Georgia’s location in a significant and well-established trafficking corridor, bulk cash smuggling and money laundering are notable threats. The State Department underlines that recent international investigations revealed that Georgia is a popular virtual currency mining location, and that the country only has a handful of qualified and competent digital forensic analysts. In particular, cryptocurrency is unregulated in Georgia and is an area that the country should address, along with its gaming industry. Georgia has an adequate legal and institutional framework for investigating and prosecuting money laundering offenses. New legislation passed in 2019 extended enhanced due diligence requirements to apply to both domestic and foreign politically exposed persons. The law also increases the ability of law enforcement to retrieve information from Georgia's Financial Monitoring Service for investigating money laundering and terrorist financing. In the fiscal year 2020, 36 money laundering prosecutions were initiated, compared to 25 in 2019. The State Department highlights that 2020 also saw two people convicted of money laundering.
-Source: 2021 International Narcotics Control Strategy Report (INCSR)

Rankings

FATF i | 2013 Methodology

Technical Effectiveness
Compliant : 6 High : 0
Largely Compliant : 22 Substantial : 2
Partially Compliant : 11 Moderate : 8
Non-Compliant : 1 Low : 1

Georgia's technical compliance was re-rated in a Nov. 28, 2022, follow-up report.

BASEL i

Rank : 39/110
Score : 4.82/10

TRANSPARENCY INTERNATIONAL i

Rank : 45/179
Score : 56/100

Tax Justice Network i

Rank : 44/176
Score : 57/100