On the TV show Archevani, which was aired on Rustavi 2 on 1 October 2013, presidential candidate and the leader of the Christian-Democratic party Giorgi Targamadze criticised the activities of the present and the former governments and stated: “Over the first six months of this year the fines imposed by the government through the Patrol Police Departmentclaimeda total of 38 million lari

from the pockets of the Georgian people.”

FactCheck

inquired about the accuracy of the figure indicated by the candidate and checked its accuracy.

As clarified by the Ministry of Finance, the information regarding the sum of money collected through fines is public and is being published by the Institute for Development of Freedom of Information (IDFI), a non-governmental organisation, on a regular basis.

The IDFI requested statistical data from the Ministry of Internal Affairs on the total sum of the fines imposed by the Patrol Police Department for administrative offences to be paid to the state budget in the first six months of 2013 and by the end of September published a comparative analysis

for the period between 2011 and 2013.

As demonstrated in the data, the total amount of fines imposed on citizens by the Patrol Police Department in the first six months of 2013 amounted to GEL 31,106,828. According to the similar information for 2011 and 2012, the sum of fines was at GEL 21,134,952 in the first six months of 2011 and at GEL 18,276,641 in the same period of 2012.

As gathered from the official data of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia, the amount of fines imposed by the Patrol Police Department during the first six months of 2013 grew by GEL 9,971,876 (47.2%) as compared to the similar period in 2011, and by GEL 12,830,187 (70%), as compared to the similar period in 2012.

Conclusion

As reported by the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the total amount of fines imposed on citizens by the Patrol Police Department in the first six months of 2013 has exceeded GEL 31 million. Furthermore, the sum of fines imposed for administrative offences has grown by GEL 9,971,876 (47.2%) as compared to the similar period in 2011, and by GEL 12,830,187 (70%), relative to the similar period in 2012.

It is to be noted that in his statement Giorgi Targamadze inaccurately indicates the figure (GEL 38 million) for 2013. The candidate clarified in a private conversation, however, that his mentioning of 38 million had been a mechanical mistake and he actually meant to say 31 million as he was also basing his assertions on the data of the Ministry of Internal Affairs published by the IDFI. Despite minor inaccuracies, the statement of the presidential candidate is still contextually truthful and, therefore, we conclude that Giorgi Targamadze’s statement: “The sum of money collected from the population in fines amounted to 38 million lari in the first six months of this year,” is MOSTLY TRUE.