On June 6, the Investigation Service of the Ministry of Finance of Georgia (Service) has collected digital devices and cash drawer at Casino Adjara. Pursuant to the official statement the Service is "conducting an investigation into possible facts of legalization of illegal income and deliberate evasion of a particularly large amount of tax by the heads of one of the casinos. Crime is envisaged by the Articles 194 and 218 of the Criminal Code of Georgia."
Business Press News has searched who is the owner of Casino Adjara. According to the company's 2021 report, the firm was registered in 2000. Until February 11, 2016, the company operated under the brand name of Casino Adjara LLC, and on February 11, 2016, the company was rebranded to Sunshine LLC.
The owners of the firm are companies registered offshore. In particular, 10% of the casino is owned by Solna Leisure Holdings Limited, registered in Cyprus, and 90% by Gannado Worldwide S.A., registered in the Virgin Islands.
As noted in the report, the 100% owner of the Gannado Worldwide S.A. is a citizen of Sweden David Iakobashvili, thus, the ultimate controlling person of Casino Adjara is David Iakobashvili. According to the 2013 publication of Transparency International Georgia, Iakobashvili, through Gannado Worldwide, acquired a 90% stake in Casino Adjara in May 2011 for US$8.72 million.
As for the financial performance of the casino, the company's net profit at the end of 2021 amounted to 4,275,840 Georgian lari. While the casino ended 2020 with a loss of 19,009,063 Georgian lari after tax.
Sunshine LLC generates income from three types of activities: a casino, an arcade and a bar-restaurant. The main 76% of revenue generated in 2021 comes from casino table revenue, 22% from slot machine revenue, and only 2% from bar-restaurant. As for specific numbers, in 2021, Casino Adjara received 17,512,376 GEL from gaming tables, 5,072,109 GEL from slot machines and 355,555 GEL from a bar-restaurant.
To recall, this is not the first time that investigative actions have been conducted against Casino Adjara on charges of tax evasion and legalization of illegal income. In August 2015, the Investigation Service entered the casino with the same motive. As the agency stated at the time, Casino Adjara systematically evaded paying taxes. As a result of an audit conducted by the Audit Department of the Revenue Service of Georgia, GEL 19,269,277 was collected from the casino in favor of the state budget.
After the ruling Georgian Dream party came to power in 2012, another scandal erupted around the casino. In particular, Ivane Chigvinadze, who was released as a political prisoner in early 2013, demanded “the return of his share” in the Casino Adjara. In Chigvinadze’s words, he invested a million dollars in the casino and became one of its shareholders, but in 2009, when he got involved in politics from business, such as, he moved to the united opposition, the former owner of Adjara, Temur Ugulava, terminated the contract. The deposited money was transferred to an unknown account, and Chigvinadze did not receive this amount. Iva Chigvinadze was arrested on the night of May 26, 2011 and released from prison as a political prisoner in 2013. Chigvinadze filed a lawsuit. In order to secure the claim, the movable property of the casino was seized. At that time, according to available data, David Kezerashvili actually stood behind the Adjara casino, and Iakobashvili got it with his backing. Iakobashvili does not deny his acquaintance with Kezerashvili and does not hide the fact that he acquired certain assets from him, but not Adjara itself.
Source: Commersant
