Natia Turnava says Georgia’s banking system complies with sanctions enforcement rules and that there have been no cases of serious violations or sanctions evasion

National Bank of Georgia President Natia Turnava told Parliament that Georgia’s banking system complies with sanctions enforcement rules and that there have been no cases of serious violations or sanctions evasion.

According to Turnava, this is not only the National Bank’s assessment but also the conclusion of international assessments, including those conducted by reputable organisations such as MONEYVAL.

“At the same time, I would like to emphasise that any regulatory act issued by us must fully comply with Georgian legislation. Since Georgian law establishes a number of procedures concerning certain actions involving other people’s property, we did everything necessary to ensure that our regulatory act complied with the legislation.

Three years have passed, and this rule has been operating very positively and effectively. Its purpose was to ensure that our financial system complies with international regulations and sanctions requirements. Linking it to any one individual is a lie, and the facts speak for themselves,” Natia Turnava said during the parliamentary session.

In 2023, the National Bank of Georgia approved a special rule concerning the enforcement of financial sanctions imposed on Russia by the United States, the European Union and the United Kingdom.

Shortly afterwards, Natia Turnava amended the rule, introducing an exemption concerning Georgian citizens. Under the amendment, international sanctions regimes would apply to a Georgian citizen only if a final and legally effective guilty verdict had been issued by a Georgian court regarding the grounds for imposing sanctions on that individual.

The amendment followed the sanctioning of former Prosecutor General Otar Partskhaladze.