Tbilisi: The Manager of Cartu foundation, Nikoloz Chkhetiani responded to Levan Berdzenishvili’s accusations against former Prime Minister of Georgia, Bidzina Ivanishvili reaping personal benefits from the projects implemented in the country.
Nikoloz Chkhetiani stated, “Since similar actions on the part of Berdzenishvili are systematic and he periodically repeats false accusations as the chairman of the board of the “Cartu” Foundation, I consider myself obliged to give him an answer publicly.
I believe that neither Levan Berdzenishvili deserves special attention nor Mr. Bidzina Ivanishvili needs my protection. In addition, my goal today is not to remind society of Bidzina Ivanishvili’s charitable activities. However, I consider it necessary to correct Berdzenishvili’s distorted assessment of Bidzina Ivanishvili’s worth.
For example, let me explain to the public how Levan Berdzenishvili distorts the present, which proves that he has no moral right to teach history to the public.
Consider the anatomy of Berdzenishvili’s accusation against Bidzina Ivanishvili. Berdzenishvili said in the mentioned program of “Main Channel” that Bidzina Ivanishvili’s principle, that he knows how to make money, and he knows how to do it without any morality.”
This is what Berdzenishvili says about a person who has been supporting the Georgian society and the state for decades, who selflessly spent more than 3 billion dollars on charity projects implemented in Georgia, which covered almost all spheres of public life.
I have been working in the “Cartu” system for many years and I know both Mr. Bidzina and his family quite closely. I know what, the attitude of this family towards moral norms, maybe I can clearly see the falsity of the accusations thrown at others.
Accordingly, I believe that constant attacks and appeals with false moralistic categories from one particular person require a serious response.
First of all, I would like to remind the public that Mr. Bidzina Ivanishvili created his property in another country. From the day of his return to his homeland, he deliberately stopped his profitable business activities and since then, he has been engaged in the disposal of property created in a foreign country for the benefit of Georgia. To illustrate this, I would like to cite some notable examples.
Bank Cartu, founded by Bidzina Ivanishvili, has never pursued an aggressive banking policy. Shortly after the establishment of Bank Cartu, Bidzina Ivanishvili bought out the liabilities of the American-founded and then bankrupt Absolute Bank, thereby saving the Georgian banking system from inevitable collapse. Bank “Cartu” had full resources, aggressive banking policy to produce and occupy the niche occupied by the most profitable Georgian banks today.
However, Bidzina Ivanishvili deliberately refused such a policy from the beginning, because she considered Bank “Cartu” as a tool for strengthening the Georgian banking system, not for making financial profit. The redemption of the liabilities of the bankrupt “Absolute Bank”, which was left without assets, was one of the unmistakable confirmations of this.
A few years ago, Mr. Bidzina Ivanishvili transferred the ownership of the “Cartu” bank to the charity fund, which is also a proof that he never thought of the bank as a profit-making tool.
“Co-investment fund” was created with a similar approach. The public remembers a lot of speculation and slander around the foundation. Politically engaged persons claimed that the fund was cheaply appropriating state property, lands, etc. However, in the end, it turned out that Bidzina Ivanishvili’s profit was not even from the “Co-Investment Fund”.
He got out of business, which was his conscious decision from the beginning. All completed projects – including hotels, the construction of which was aimed at expanding the tourist infrastructure and employment of people in the country – were finally handed over to the “Cartu” charity fund, thereby giving a clear answer to all speculations and slanders.
Currently, it is in the process of implementation of several ongoing projects of the “Co-Investment Fund” and information about the objectives of the respective projects are also available to anyone.
As a whole, as the head of the “Cartu” Foundation and a person who has fully understood the case, I can confidently state that Mr. Bidzina Ivanishvili and his family did not take home even a single penny from any of the projects implemented in Georgia.
During the 17 years of my work at the Foundation, there was not a single case that the Ivanishvili family should benefit from the funds of the fund. And this is against the background that over the past years, Bidzina Ivanishvili has carried out charity worth 3 billion dollars through the “Cartu” charity fund.
