Lasha Khutsishvili: Immediately after the approval of the lists of sanctioned goods and persons, the Revenue Service of the Ministry of Finance started to strictly control the movement of sanctioned cargoes

As soon as the lists of sanctioned goods and persons were approved, the Revenue Service of the Ministry of Finance of Georgia started strict control of the movement of sanctioned cargoes in the customs territory of the country, said the Minister of Finance, Lasha Khutsishvili during his speech at the event dedicated to the International Day of Customs.

In his speech, the Minister focused on the steps taken by Georgia in the direction of enforcement of international sanctions and noted that from the very first days of the imposition of international sanctions, a relevant working group was created in the Customs Risk Management Division of the Customs Department of the Revenue Service, which performs centralized control of the enforcement of the said sanctions.

"During the mentioned period, 14 risk profiles were created, on the basis of which the movement of prohibited goods to the customs territory of Georgia by sanctioned individuals and companies, as well as the transit, export and re-export procedures, are identified and controlled. In addition, at the customs checkpoint "Kazbegi" the necessary equipment for customs control, including X-ray scanners, was additionally placed. Also, the capacity of other checkpoints to implement appropriate controls has been strengthened. Since the first days of the imposition of sanctions, a number of communications have been made with our strategic partners regarding the technical assistance required for the proper administration of international sanctions," said the Minister of Finance, Lasha Khutsishvili.

He thanked the partners for the support provided to the country in this direction.

As the Minister noted, several remote and physical meetings were organized with the help of the US Embassy's Export Control and Related Border Security Program, the EU Technical Assistance and Information Exchange Instrument (TAIEX), with the involvement of the relevant authorities of Georgia, the banking sector and the Customs Department of the Revenue Service.

Ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to Georgia Meline Arakalian - to be frank, I think it will take a lot of time to rebuild the trust in the Georgian government