Fighting corruption in Batumi, Georgia country (Middle Asia) - Part 1

Despite having started a FundRazr campaing some days ago, my purpose publishing it all here is to have the most exposure and awareness for possible travelers and investors to be very aware of what's really happening in Batumi, Georgia (Middle Asia), being this my case in wich I currently fighting for more than 9 months.

After posting this in article in the Hive Blockchain I will also focus on publish this same campaign on Twitter and advertise it, to try to reach to the most people.

All this is kinda new for me so that is why my Georgian lawyers are handling the issue and we're finally bringing to court this people in Georgia in avery long process that will take more than 3 years.

I proceed to publish here the same article I wrote in the original FundRazr campaing.

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"I'm a Spanish Army veteran already on his 40s who served his country for almost a decade and a half (fought also in Afghanistan for 6 months during that period), who decided to retire early (voluntarily resigning my permanent contract with the Government), hard working and having throughout all those years a boring life just for being able to save the most, invest and trade some stocks and try to live a cheaper life in some Eastern country.

In 2022 I embarked myself in a long trip heading Asia with the purpose of purchasing some humble real estate (I even thought about some wooden cabin lost in the Philippine jungle) and I arrived Batumi (Ajara, Georgia) by bus through Turkey in September of that same year (10 months ago).

During the first month I was somehow enchanted with the contrasts of this city (sea, mountains, nature, rainy/sunny days, etc.) and the oportunities that a country in development with a strategic location as Georgia represents (half way in between Europe and Asia), and decided to purchase here a real estate property (a small studio of 30 quare meters with sea views) since they have far cheaper prices than in Europe (to note that now many things are almost the same prices than in Europe, even some things more expensive due to the war and all the massive Russian exodus and, of course, they almost doubled prices of real estate).

So when I started looking for apartments, the size and location I wanted, they were around $30,000 fully furnished (turnkey), but when I was about purchasing the one I decided to a "supposed well known and trustworthy" Georgian building company named New Time, they raised the price to $38,000 fully furnished.

Still, I decided to go on with the purchase, despite being pretty sure I was being applied the well known "Tourist Tax" around here (specially for Westerners) but I took it as my extra contribution to help the city and the country.

However and, before signing the Preliminary Contract and transfering them the money, on September 30th, 2022, I hired a lawyer from another "supposed well known and trustworthy" Georgian law firm named LCC Lawfirm (inscribed in the Georgian Bar Association - highest standards and ethics entity for lawyers around here) to review both the Georgian and English version of it (since I had no idea of real estate, being this my first purchase, and here people almost no speaking any English).

She, the Head of that law firm office in Batumi, Ms. Tekle Shervashidze (not only also she a Georgian Bar Association inscribed lawyer herself but she worked as paralegal for International Transparency of Georgia in the past), replied to me via WhatsApp and asked me to send her pictures of the Preliminary Agreement also via WhatsApp, she not wanting me to come to her office for handing her the physical contract in person, neither she wanted me to come to her offices to fulfill the payment.
On October 3rd, 2022, Ms. Tekle gave me the "absolute green light" for going ahead with everything, assuring me no risks attached with the purchase and everything fine.

Ms. Tekle didn't warn me neither about the contract including any obligation to grant the building company the authority to be the sole manager of my property, at any moment, thing I was neither been told by the building company, ever.
However, I realized that the final Appendix where all the furniture and stuff I paid for should be included and reflected, only was including not even a full bathroom in first instance (neither non-movable furniture, nor the movable furniture) thing I mentioned both to the LCC lawyer and the Sales Manager of the building company, Tinatin Mirtskhulava (who was also playing the role of my Translator) and they assured me not to worry, since we had yet to sign the next and most important Final Agreement (since this one was a Prepurchase Agreement, the preliminary) and all the furniture would have been added there, since the renovation specifics where not included in this preliminary one.

(Here I was posting two Tinatin's WhatsApp conversation screenshots where she was assuring me this contract was not for renovation specifics and everything will be included in the Final Agreement, but I deleted the screenshots to avoid legal problems following my lawyers' advice).

I, somehow, trusted both the lawyer (that due to her credentials and being a priori an easy work, she for sure did review properly the 6 pages contract) and the building company (supposed to be a reliable one) that the furniture will be later included in the last and final agreement and I went ahead with the payment, they inscribing me as "future owner" in the Property Registry some days after receiving the money transfer.

After that, months of absolute silence from the building company side and since they had to deliver me the apartment during December 2022, a thing that currently didn't happen on July 9th, 2023, I texted them during months (from November 2022 to March 2023) and got no reply back from their side.

After all this silence from the building company and I presenting myself in their offices during several occasions, they took one of those oportunities to try to sign me immediately (in an unplanned meeting that same day, with lots of hurry, in wich they had their lawyer, they being 4 people and I being alone and feeling overwhelmed and worried by all the situation), in a super abusive Final Agreement where I still had to pay them +$6,000 (as debt from the original price, when I already paid them the full amount, lum-sum payment), I having to grant them indefinitely management of my property in a 10 years renovable periods, I not being able to use my own apartment but only 30 days per year (not in season and having to inform them of that 3 months in advance), I having to pay for their management taxes, I having to pay for all the energy bills and the damages caused by tenants, among other abusive clauses.

*After that super abusive final agreement being presented to me on March 2023, I hired my current lawyers (ExpatHub, very professional Georgian people) to amend the contract in a great extent and for them to try to reach the building company and negotiate with them, since now the building company was assuring not going to add any kind of furniture in my studio for wich I had already paid (since they claim is not included in the same Preliminary Contract they told me not to worry about), among the rest of their abusive conditions exposed in the above paragraph for them to deliver me the property I paid for. *

(Cannot post all the contract here since is a 14 pages contract but for sure I will try to use it as another proof in court).

Once my lawyers amended that contract almost in all its extent and included fairer terms (for both sides), also including the furniture I paid for in the Appendix, building company refused to sign it and refused communication with us during months.

At the same time of all that happening, over the course of those weeks and months, the Preliminary Contract that Ms. Tekle reviewed on October 2022 was reviewed again by other lawyers and I also requested other's legal opinion, all of them confirming me that all the Preliminary Contract on its extent was blurry, shady, deceitful and with at least one clause (7.1 article) granting the building company ilimited time to deliver me my property, hence I not being able to claim that delay (they had to deliver me my property on December 2022) as a Non-Execution in the fulfilment of their obligations and claim it as a contract breach, thing that for sure Ms. Tekle Shervashidze said me nothing about, as the report clearly shows.

Meanwhile my lawyers were doing the real work, I hired again the services of Ms. Tekle to review that same clearly abusive Final Agreement that the building company presented to me and wanted me to sign, but this time I hired her on purpose (already knowing that the Preliminary Agreement she reviewed was indeed not thoroughly reviewed), to test her and see what she was about telling me about this abusive Final Agreement.

To note, Ms. Tekle was the only attorney who reiterated to me that this clearly abusive Final Agreement was also perfectly fine for me to go in with.

(Here I was posting a Tekle's WhatsApp conversation screenshot where she was assuring me everything fine also with the Final Agreement, but I deleted the screenshot to avoid legal problems following my lawyers' advice).

After some months here I discovered that Ms. Tekle Shervashidze, the same lawyer who reviewed both contracts saying "All ok" is in a relationship to a man with a Beridze surname and the building company's director's name is Levan Beridze.

Might be a coincidence in sharing surnames, might have nothing to do with the whole case but one thing is clear to me, independent of that association or not being produced, and that it's a fact: she reviewed wrongly two abusive contracts and didn't look for her client's interests in none of those two contracts, whether on purpose or by mistake.

Anyways I paid my lawyers for researching about that fact (in case of they being family) and I'm already filing a complaint in the said Georgian Bar Association (Ethics Comission) against this lawyer for "The non-fulfilment of the duly diligence on her duty when hired for reviewing a real estate Preliminary Purchase Agreement and Final Agreement" together with "Not looking for her client's interests".

To note also that my current ExpatHub lawyers are from the capital of Georgia (Tbilisi) because almost all the lawyers I tried to reach in here in Batumi refused to provide me any assistance the moment they knew I was the Spanish guy (when showing them the passport for hiring a consultation, so not even a paid consultation they provided me) excepting only one lawyer that was open to assist me but charging me more than the double of this Tbilisi's prestigious lawfirm.

It turns out that this only lawyer from Batumi who wanted to assist me is friends with Ms. Tekle Shervashidze (they follow each other on Instagram).

I have to say that here in Batumi, despite being the second city of Georgia by importance, it's pretty small and everyone know each other; if you add to that the extended and still predominant exsoviet model here you have the same picture I already have after living almost 1 year here and dealing with this system: everyone covering each other, corruption and scams all around.

And if you speak English (since here most of their tourists are Russian speakers), you're sentenced: even the cashiers in the main big Carrefour try to trick you.

In absolute everywhere or everything I've done they have tried to scam me or, in fact, I've been scammed (wine shops, groceries shops, restaurants, hostel prices, bus trips, taxis, etc.).

Well, summarizing, what it was supposed to be a safe purchase to be delivered in December 2022 resulted in I filing a lawsuit against this building company, because having no any property at all yet, building company refusing giving me back any of my money (and if I finish the contract by myself I have to pay them a fine of a 20% of the total value -now more than $8,500 fine- and they supposed to give me the rest of my money back when/if they sell that apartment -and that if you trust thet will give you back any money at all-), building company refusing any communication, I having already spent in Georgia more than $50,000 from my savings during all these months (including the real estate property in that) and still having to face a long and expensive legal process with my Tbilisi lawyers (ExpatHub) that might take more than 3 years and will be divided in 3 phases, to be able to recover my money (if that ever happens) from the hands of this disgusting people:

• First Instance of Batumi (could there be 3 hearings, 1 per year, due to saturation).
• Appealing Court of Kutaisi.
• Supreme Court of Tbilisi.

To note that some lawyers around here have already told me that I can consider the trial in Batumi lost due to the corruption and that my best chance is the Supreme Court (so it will be a real and unbelievable surprise if in Batumi I get some justice done).

The expenses for First Instance in Batumi will be:

• $1,200 - Court Fee
• $1,400 - My lawyers writing and filing the lawsuit
• $600 - $50/hour travel expenses (6 hours by train from Tbilisi to Batumi, round trip makes 12 hours) for first hearing (x3 if 3 Batumi hearings due to saturation would make it $1,800).
• $120/hour my lawyers' representation fee before court and whatever other action they had to take.

Expenses for Appealing Court in Kutaisi will be:

• $1,600 - Court Fee
• $500 - $50/hour travel expenses (5 hours by trains from Tbilisi to Kutaisi, round trip makes 10 hours)
• $120/hour my lawyers' representation fee before court and whatever other action they had to take.

Expenses for Supreme Court in Tbilisi will be:

• $2,000 - Court Fee
• $120/hour my lawyers' representation fee before court and whatever other action they had to take.

According to my calculations and counting around 10 hours total (might be more than that) lawyers' representation fee for the whole three processes it all would add up to, at least, $10,000.

I've no job here despite I'm trying to find one, whether remote via Internet or here in Batumi but my knowledge of Georgian and Russian languages are still very poor (even though I'm focusing in improving them) and mostly everyone refuses hiring me despite having a good curriculum.

I've also been trying to get accomodated in the chepest places.

So, despite the situation I'm in I decided I won't throw in the towel and not gonna let them win this that easy (at least not without fighting, as they seem they're accostumed to do with the tourists) because what they wanted me to do was accepting having paid a surplus of $8,000 of Tourist Tax, plus a surplus of $10,000 for a furniture that they won't cover (via this presumed fraud) and I having to spend again more or less the same in fully renovating the studio by myself.

And, still, if accepting that case exposed above, they want me to assume all the costs of doing it right now, for them to be able to manage the property the sooner the better.

You tell me: Batumi, Georgia.

If you want to help me to keep on having my head up with all this process and showing these poor souls with no ethics that we, in the Western, fight back, whatever it takes, it would be really appreciated.

And, in exchange for your contributions, despite of course having you updated of all the process:

• If I recover my money (and that would be supposedly plus interests, if that ever happens) I have no issue in paying you back all your donations.
• Whether if I recover my money and purchase a new property somewhere else or I manage to have this property issue in Batumi settled up with all furniture and stuff, you willl be invited to spend some days for free in my apartment (all for you) and know Georgia and its culture (the good one) offering you also the option of being your tour guide during some days to assure you enjoy the good places with regular prices, easening you the transport infraestrcuture, the use of basic words, avoiding you scams, etc, etc..

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Thank you very much.

To serve until death."

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Rebloggin of this post will be much appreciated.

Thanks for reading and reblogging!