“Political corruption” - Georgian Parliament official slams German Ambassador for renting apartment from opposition party leader

Gia Volski, an MP from the ruling Georgian Dream party and the First Vice Speaker of the Parliament, on Friday accused Peter Fischer, Germany’s Ambassador to Georgia, of engaging in “political corruption” by renting an apartment from the family of Mamuka Khazaradze, the leader of the opposition Lelo party, while openly supporting his political positions.

In his remarks, Volski expressed disbelief that German law would permit an ambassador to rent a residence from a political figure without a formal contract, questioning the transparency of such an arrangement.

“Beyond hiding income tax, this is, of course, a serious political issue, if it is true. We don’t know what German law entails, but all rules and norms are violated when an ambassador does not formalise a contract with a homeowner. Especially when the homeowner is known as the leader of a political party, and accordingly, this Ambassador supports his position, including openly and quite aggressively. Of course, we can call this political corruption. Whether this translates into a specific legal violation regarding non-payment, competent authorities will likely address that. But if this is the case, I am certain that no law in Germany allows such an outrage, where an ambassador rents a house from a political leader without a contract, no one knows who pays what, and he sends a financial report to Berlin - what does he indicate there, that he pays the political leader in cash? I can’t imagine from what perspective this can be considered, but the fact is that political corruption is evident”, Volski said.

Volski further asserted that the Ambassador’s actions, combined with his public support for Khazaradze's political views, demonstrate a lack of respect for Georgia as a sovereign state.

“Let’s set aside the fact that no financial agreement document exists. Renting a house from a political leader by the Ambassador and then endorsing that leader’s ideas and positions so aggressively speaks to one thing - this is political corruption. Moreover, the Ambassador does not view Georgia as a state where rules must be followed, nor as a state with a certain culture, tradition, and intellect, and it doesn’t matter to him whether this insults the host state or not”, he concluded.