By the end of 2025, the situation regarding corruption in the country is particularly alarming. It can be stated unequivocally that Georgia is a captured, kleptocratic state, according to the statement released by Transparency International – Georgia on the occasion of International Anti-Corruption Day.

According to the organization, for Georgia to effectively fight corruption, democratic governance must be restored in the country and a real process of building independent institutions must begin.

“December 9 is International Anti-Corruption Day. By the end of 2025, the situation regarding corruption in the country is particularly alarming. It can be stated unequivocally that Georgia is a captured, kleptocratic state.

In such countries, the only goal and motivation of the ruling elite is personal enrichment, which occurs through robbing citizens and the state. Resources accumulated through corruption are then used to maintain power.

The rule of Bidzina Ivanishvili, who stands at the head of the captured state, is based on a group engaged in corruption - he grants them opportunities to enrich themselves through corrupt means and then uses them to subjugate state institutions and preserve his own power.

Accordingly, we should expect further growth in corruption and the damage caused by it.

More specifically, the challenges related to corruption in the country look as follows:

The process of state capture is complete – there is not a single independent state body capable of openly discussing corruption or taking real action against it.

A kleptocracy is forming – the number, nature, and actors involved in documented cases of elite corruption indicate a systemic character of high-level corruption.

A façade fight against corruption is underway – investigative agencies serve the internal conflicts and disputes of the ruling party, while hundreds of documented cases of elite corruption remain shelved.

The Anti-Corruption Bureau is being abolished – created only three years ago to prevent corruption, the agency turned into a repressive mechanism against civil society instead of fighting corruption. Now it is being dissolved, leaving the situation worse across all key anti-corruption areas: monitoring of asset declarations, oversight of political finances, drafting a national anti-corruption strategy, participation in international anti-corruption platforms, whistleblower protection, and conflict-of-interest control.

International anti-corruption obligations and recommendations are ignored –

Georgia openly opposes the anti-corruption requirements developed by the European Commission;

the same applies to GRECO’s anti-corruption recommendations;

the country has withdrawn from major international anti-corruption processes such as the OECD Anti-Corruption Network assessment and the Open Government Partnership (OGP).

Georgia has had no national anti-corruption strategy for five years – in other words, for more than five years no state institution has thought on an official level about what corruption risks exist, where these risks are concentrated, or what should be done to reduce them.

Cooperation between state institutions and civil society has been banned by law – civil society, which is an integral part of the effective fight against corruption - especially elite corruption - is being persecuted and pushed to the verge of destruction. Civil society participation in decision-making processes has been abolished at the legislative level, directly contradicting the UN Convention against Corruption.

For Georgia to be able to effectively fight corruption, democratic governance must be restored and a real process of building independent institutions must begin. Transparency International – Georgia continues to work toward this goal,” the statement reads.