Georgian companies cooperating with sanctioned Russians: Bolero Group added to the list of international sponsors of war

09.11.2023

Imports of wines from Georgia to Russia increased by 49% in the first quarter of 2023, despite the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The National Agency on Corruption Prevention (NACP) has added Bolero, a leading Georgian group of wine companies, to the list of international sponsors of war. The united group of wineries includes: Bolero & Company Ltd, GVMT GROUP LLC and GRUZVINPROM LLC. The sole beneficiary of the companies is Karichashvili Vakhtang, who has Russian citizenship and is also a business partner of Bidzina Ivanishvili's cousin. Between January 2022 and October 2023, these companies exported more than $68 million worth of goods to Russia. THE GROUP'S COMPANIES PROCESSED MORE THAN $3.5 BILLION WORTH OF GOODS. Together, the group's companies process more than half of the grapes grown in Georgia. Bolero & Company Ltd's financial report states that a significant portion of the company's revenue is generated by sales in the Russian market. Also, despite Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the company's management believes that the war has not and will not have a significant impact on their operations in the near future. Bolero Group is also actively cooperating with companies associated with the Russians under sanctions. For example, among the companies in Russia with which Bolero & Company Ltd cooperates is Logistics Alternative LLC, which is controlled by Magnit PJSC. The main shareholder of Magnit PJSC (29.2% of shares) is the Marathon Group of Alexander Vinokurov, who is under sanctions from the EU, the UK, Canada, Switzerland, Australia, Ukraine, and New Zealand. In addition, he is the son-in-law of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation Sergey Lavrov.Vinokurov was the one who, along with 36 other businessmen, met with Russian President Vladimir Putin and other members of the Russian government a few days before Russia's large-scale invasion of Ukraine to discuss the impact of international sanctions. GVMT Group LLC is a supplier to Bristol Retail Capital LLC . The founder of the latter is Mercury Retail Group Limited, which is associated with the sanctioned Russians Igor Kesayev and Sergey Katsiyev. Although Georgia itself became a victim of Russian aggression in 2008, some Georgian companies, forgetting history, continue to actively cooperate with Russia. After the full-scale invasion of Ukraine by the terrorist state of Russia in 2022, the Bolero group of Georgian wine companies significantly increased its exports to Russia and began to cooperate with the sanctioned Russians. The NACP is the body responsible for promoting the development of a compliance system in the private sector. During compliance procedures, counterparties are subject to integrity checks, including compliance with socially responsible business practices in accordance with OECD standards. The list of "International Sponsors of War" on the War and Sanctions portal is a powerful reputational tool for achieving integrity of supply chains in the international dimension, withdrawal of international business from Russia, and thus reducing the financial and technological capacity of the terrorist country to kill Ukrainians. One of the platform's "levers of pressure" is cooperation with the World-Check database, which is used by banks and insurance companies to assess risks. That is why for global companies, the consequences of being on the list are worse than continuing to do business with the aggressor country.