Court of Appeal in London makes freezing order against entities owned by Gela Mikadze worth $42.5 million

London, 26 July - Gela Mikadze, a Georgian MP for the Alliance of Patriots Party and former head of the Government of Ras Al Khaimah's ('RAK') entities in Georgia has suffered a significant defeat in the UK Court of Appeal. English entities owned by Mikadze are now the subject of global freezing injunctions totalling $42,561,555.

This is the third court decision, in three separate jurisdictions, against Mikadze, following his high-profile criminal convictions for fraud in both Georgia and the UAE. This together with his losses in Georgian courts in respect to the Mukhrovani Land fraud, where he was ordered to return 951 hectares of land, means that Mikadze is now subject to civil and criminal sanctions and global freezing injunctions in relation to assets of nearly $120 million.

The Court of Appeal also granted the RAK government entities permission to request an Order appointing a Receiver over the assets of three of Mikadze's UK companies. RAK government entities will now be able to investigate Mikadze's bank accounts in Latvia where it is believed much of the proceeds of his various wrongdoings were sheltered and from which it is suspected that monies were channelled to third parties. The Court of Appeal heard that Mikadze operated a number of bank accounts in Riga with ABLV Bank. It is anticipated that Latvia's membership of the EU will assist in the process of enforcement against Mikadze's assets.

David Hughes, a Partner at Stewarts Law LLP said, "My client RAKIA is delighted with this result which provides further judicial support to the RAK government's quest and determination to find information regarding the misappropriation of its assets by Mikadze and his partners in crime George Janashia and Khater Massaad. RAKIA will continue to pursue Mikadze, Janashia and Massaad in the UK, Georgian and UAE courts. It does not stop here; we look forward to working with the Latvian authorities to establish whether Mikadze has sheltered misappropriated funds in bank accounts in Riga."

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