An international journalistic investigation reveals that the family of Bidzina Ivanishvili, the honorary chairman of Georgian Dream and a billionaire, owns residences and plots of land in prestigious districts of Moscow.
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Information from the co-author of the investigation, Transparency International - Georgia, reveals that in the Sokol and Odintsovo districts, the Ivanishvili family owns two private houses (795.6 and 614.5 sq.m.), one of which is bordered by a 52 749 sq.m. yard comprising nine contiguous plots of land, along with three garages and nine outbuildings. The estimated market value of the discovered property is at least $14.7 million. The properties are registered in the names of Bidzina Ivanishvili's wife, Ekaterine Khvedelidze, their son, Uta Ivanishvili, and the Russian company Aqua-Space LLC.
"This once again confirms that Bidzina Ivanishvili's 2011 promise to sever all ties with Russia, a claim still echoed by the ruling party's leaders, was a lie. Instead of cutting ties, his family is expanding their property holdings in Moscow," said Transparency International - Georgia.
The journalistic investigation indicates that the co-owner of the house located in the Sokol settlement, a suburb of Moscow, is Uta Ivanishvili, who, according to Georgian media reports, remains a Russian citizen. The investigation also found that the Ivanishvili family had rented this house to the famous Russian director Andrey Pershin (pseudonym Zhora Kryzhovnikov) for approximately $9000 per month. The rental is managed by Aqua-Space LLC, a company owned by Bidzina Ivanishvili through Vanity Overseas Limited, an offshore company registered in the Virgin Islands. According to the investigation, Aqua-Space personally transfers most of the rental income to Bidzina Ivanishvili's wife, Ekaterine Khvedelidze, who has received approximately $94 000 in income since September 2022.
Bidzina Ivanishvili mentioned part of the Moscow property in the only declaration he filed in 2013 as Prime Minister. However, the journalistic investigation found that most of the property was purchased and registered in Ekaterine Khvedelidze's name in recent years. Specifically, in 2021, she purchased two additional adjacent plots of land (totaling 9070 sq.m.) with several buildings on them in the Odintsovo district, including a private residential house of 795.6 sq.m. Just a few months ago, on April 19, 2024, she acquired another adjacent plot of land of 4500 sq.m. Additionally, the previous owner of the Odintsovo residence and the land purchased in 2024 was Bidzina Ivanishvili's cousin, Ucha Mamatsashvili.
The journalistic investigation was conducted by the "Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project" (SCOOP), Transparency International - Georgia, Studio Monitori, Governance Monitoring Center (GMC), iFact, and iStories. Based on their information, Bidzina Ivanishvili, his wife, and son did not respond to requests for comment.
