At the plenary session held on 25 July 2013 Eka Beselia, the Member of Parliamentary Majority, stated that because the previous government set the matters adrift, presently half a million citizens are listed in the debtor registry. According to the MP, hundreds of thousands people have been, or are about to be, evicted from their homes; their property is sequestrated or is in the process of enforcement.
FactCheck inquired about the accuracy of Eka Beselia’s statement. For this purpose we addressed the National Bureau of Enforcement at the Ministry of Justice of Georgia and requested the relevant public information with regard to the debtor registry.
National Bureau of Enforcement represents a Legal Entity of Public Law under the Ministry of Justice of Georgia. Its primary purpose is the enforcement of decisions made by the court and administrative bodies, also the enforcement of any other decisions prescribed by the law. For serving this purpose, the National Enforcement Bureau is authorized to implement coercive measures. It serves physical and legal entities (including commercial banks and microfinance organizations), unions and the state – any entity, violation of whose rights has been duly proven.
The letter we received from the National Bureau of Enforcement reads: “It is impossible to ascertain [specifically] the number of physical entities listed in the debtor registry. The debtors are registered by the number of cases brought against them.” By 12 August 2013, total number of debtors listed in the debtor registry [physical and legal entities altogether] amounted to 92 933.
By the beginning of August of 2013, Bureau of Enforcement conducted 102 322 enforcement proceedings, only 288 (roughly 0.28 %) of those fell under the category of eviction proceedings.
282 eviction enforcement proceedings have been conducted since 2011. They are broken down by quarters of each year in the table below.
Additionally, the letter from the National Bureau of Enforcement states that the bureau does not register or statistically analyze the number of measures undertaken to secure the suit when conducting proceedings. Therefore, it is uncertain what number of properties has been sequestrated.
Conclusion
92 933 physical and legal entities are listed in the debtor registry and not half a million, as claimed by the MP.
Moreover, second part of the statement is also clearly false. All the entities (physical or legal) registered in the debtor registry are considered to be in the process of enforcement. According to the letter from the Bureau of Enforcement it is impossible to determine the number of properties being sequestrated, as the bureau collects no statistical data of such. As for the citizens being on the verge of eviction, theoretically, all the individuals registered in the registry could be facing eviction [as there is a chance, even if a minor one, of the debtors not being able to pay out the debts]; however, their total number (of individuals being in the process of enforcement, either individuals facing eviction or having their property sequestrated) cannot be higher than 92 933. According to the Bureau of Enforcement, number of cases falling under the category of eviction amounted to 288.
Consequently, we conclude that Eka Beselia’s statement: “Today we face a situation when half a million debtors are listed in the debtor registry; additionally, hundreds of thousands people have been, or are about to be, evicted from their homes; their property is sequestrated or in the process of enforcement,” is a LIE.
Additionally, the letter from the National Bureau of Enforcement states that the bureau does not register or statistically analyze the number of measures undertaken to secure the suit when conducting proceedings. Therefore, it is uncertain what number of properties has been sequestrated.
Conclusion
92 933 physical and legal entities are listed in the debtor registry and not half a million, as claimed by the MP.
Moreover, second part of the statement is also clearly false. All the entities (physical or legal) registered in the debtor registry are considered to be in the process of enforcement. According to the letter from the Bureau of Enforcement it is impossible to determine the number of properties being sequestrated, as the bureau collects no statistical data of such. As for the citizens being on the verge of eviction, theoretically, all the individuals registered in the registry could be facing eviction [as there is a chance, even if a minor one, of the debtors not being able to pay out the debts]; however, their total number (of individuals being in the process of enforcement, either individuals facing eviction or having their property sequestrated) cannot be higher than 92 933. According to the Bureau of Enforcement, number of cases falling under the category of eviction amounted to 288.
Consequently, we conclude that Eka Beselia’s statement: “Today we face a situation when half a million debtors are listed in the debtor registry; additionally, hundreds of thousands people have been, or are about to be, evicted from their homes; their property is sequestrated or in the process of enforcement,” is a LIE.
