The National Bank of Georgia (NBG) has fined 5 currency exchange booths. The relevant information was published on the official NBG website.
Specifically, the entities fined are Individual Entrepreneur (I.E.) "Merab Mskhaladze," I.E. "Merab Beridze," I.E. "Murman Sirabidze," "Deme" LLC, and "J&G" LLC. Among them, the largest penalties were imposed on I.E. Merab Mskhaladze and "J&G" LLC. The cumulative fine for all five exchange booths exceeds 2 million GEL.
Currency exchange booth I.E. "Merab Mskhaladze" was fined a total of 713,000 GEL.
Currency exchange booth I.E. "Merab Beridze" was fined a total of 413,000 GEL.
Currency exchange booth I.E. "Murman Sirabidze" was fined a total of 35,500 GEL.
Currency exchange booth "Deme" LLC was fined a total of 188,000 GEL.
Currency exchange booth "J&G" LLC was fined a total of 747,000 GEL.
The reasons for the fines vary, including providing services to individuals (including persons acting on behalf of a client) without verification, failing to verify the source of funds/property in relation to clients in accordance with legislation, failing to record information via a specialized software (electronic) system, and other violations.
All five currency exchange booths are registered in Adjara. According to the Entrepreneurial Register:
"Deme" LLC was registered in Khulo Municipality in 2019; Nadia Bolkvadze holds a 100% stake in the company.
"J&G" LLC was registered in Khelvachauri in 2011; Jumber Devadze serves as both owner and director.
As for the individual entrepreneurs, Merab Mskhaladze registered in Batumi in 2005, Murman Sirabidze in Khelvachauri in 2004, and Merab Beridze in Shuakhevi in 2019.
