Giorgi Khishtovani, director of the PMC Research Center declares, that the NBG's statement on implementation of US financial sanctions is contradictory.
Giorgi Khishtovani notes that such development of the scenario was expected and is very dangerous. According to his assessment, the interim decision for example to allow sanctioned persons to maintain accounts in GEL and make transfers in national currency, will be counterproductive. He deeply hopes that such a solution will not be chosen.
"The statement itself seems contradictory to me. Resilience to the Banking Association of Georgia and commercial banks. It will be important to show unity here. Half-solutions (we will not allow the USD account and transfers; but we will keep the GEL account ) seem to me temporary and counterproductive. Because there is an expectation of more large-scale sanctions", Giorgi Khishtovani wrote on the social network.
The National Bank of Georgia on Wednesday highlighted its “systematic supervision” of implementation of international sanctions, as well as the enforcement of compliance to its own regulations and national legislation by individual participants of the domestic financial sector.
The NBG also noted sanctions would apply to Georgian citizens when legally binding guilty verdicts were issued by the country's courts on the basis of imposed sanctions.
The central bank emphasised that Georgia was operating in full compliance with the requirements stipulated by sanctions and asserted that the country had “never been and will never become a place to evade sanctions”.
The Bank stated all representatives of the financial sector operating in the country were required to adhere to requirements of international sanctions.
