TraCCC Caucasus Office (TraCCC CO) is home to a team of experts who undertake important research and provide technical assistance in specific areas of corruption and law enforcement, as well as in a broader strategic, institutional framework. It consists of regular, full-time and part-time research fellows, as well volunteers, post-graduate students and senior undergraduates. It supports a large number of research projects that are conducted by leading scholars in Georgia on the basis of a competitive grant process.

Dr. Louise Shelley, the Director and the founder of TraCCC, oversees the technical assistance and support program in USA.

TraCCC Caucasus Office has the following structure:

Management and Administration

Alexandre Kukhianidze - Director of TraCCC Caucasus Office

Giuli Alasania - Research/Grants Manager

Ephemia Loria - Coordinator

Researchers of the TraCCC Caucasus Office

Grigol Ubiria - Researcher

Researchers and Issues in 2006:

Large Grants

1. Abuladze Baduri
"Corruption in Public Transport System in Tbilisi - Busses and Minibuses"

2. Charkviani Tako
"Corruption Practices in Court Proceeding Related with Dismissed Public Servants"

3. Gegeshidze Levan, Gabunia Tariel
"Corruption in Agrarian Sector"

4. Gugava Davit
"Crime in Georgia and its Transnational Links"

5. Kukuladze Archil
"Smuggling of Cigarettes"

6. Tinatin Zurabishvili
"Reform of Higher Education in Georgia and its impact on the "Culture of Corruption" at Universities"

Small Grants (for students)

1. Dalalishvili Tengiz
"Corruption and Extortion at Hostels"

2. Kereselidze Rati, Khvedelidze Tamar
"Homeless Children and the Juvenile Delinquency"

3. Khintibidze Tamuna
"Patrol Police and Drivers: System of Penalties and Appeals"

4. Khutsishvili Elene
"The Corruption and Market Regulation"

5. Kristesaishvili Giorgi
"Policing of Neighbourhood"


Research Teams and Issues in 2005:

1. Baduri Abuladze, Nino Antadze, Nina Dadalauri (TraCCC Researcher and Research Group Coordinator)
"Corruption and Financial Mismanagement in Municipal Solid Waste"

2. Natia Jokhadze
"Bases of Corruption in the Process of Illegal Construction in Urban Territories"

3. Irakli Sesiashvili
"Investigation of Procurement System of the Ministry of Defense and Anti-Corruption Initiatives"

4. Ketevan Baramidze
"Analysis of the Georgian Pharmaceutical Market for Investigation of Corruption Mechanisms"

5. Vazha Keleuridze
"False Charity Foundations and Corruption" (Charity Foundation "Abkhazia")

6. Zurab Garakanidze
"Economic Security and Non-Controlled Zones of Georgia"

7. George Siradze, George Mitagvaria
"Structural and Personnel Reorganization at the Ministry of Internal Affairs"

8. Grigol Liluashvili
"Smuggling and Corruption at the Customs System of Georgia"

9. Roman Bokeria
"Corruption and the Process of Privatization in Georgia"


Researchers in 2004:

1. Konstantine Mchedlishvili
"Elaboration of Measures to prevent corruption in rank of traffic Police of Georgian Ministry of Internal Affairs"

2. Nana Kiknadze
"Drawbacks in legislation for Scientific as a Promoting Factor for Corruption"

3. Merab Machavariani
"The Corruption and policy recommendations for improvement of existing system of forest resources licensing and utilization in Georgia"

4. Nino Zuriashvili
"The Corruption in Education System"

5. Levan Gegeshidze
"Corruption and Economic crime in the Education system of Georgia"

6. Irina Tskhovrebashvili
"Corruption in the United Social Insurance Fund of Georgia"

7. Giorgi Siradze
"Corruption within the Ministry of Internal Affairs in Georgia"

8. Davit Japaridze
"Corruption within tax collection offices governed by local authorities in Tbilisi"

9. Nino Gvenetadze
"Judiciary and Corruption"

10. Liana Jervalidze
"Corruption in Georgia's Natural Gas Supply-Distribution chain"

11. Givi Lobzhanidze
"Legislative methods against "Human Trafficking" of Georgia: Harmonization of Georgian legislation with new International norms"


Research Teams and Issues in 2003:

Team 1

Corruption in the Energy Sector

1. Roman Bokeria - Research Fellow
2. Natalia Ivanova - Junior Research Fellow Grantee
3. Elene Kharabadze - Senior Research Fellow Grantee

Team 2

Corruption in the Road Construction and its Maintenance

1. Guram Svanidze - Senior Research Fellow
2. Eugenia Unanyants - Research Fellow

Team 3

Cross-Border Issues/Smuggling through Abkhazia and Tshinvali Region/South Osetia

1. Alexandre Kukhianidze - Senior Research Fellow (TraCCC CO Director)
2. Alexandre Kupatadze - Associate Research Fellow
3. Roman Gotsiridze - Senior Research Fellow, Grantee
4. Our colleague in Saratov - Dr. Natalia A. Lopashenko (Director of TraCCC in Saratov, Senior Research Fellow)

Team 4

Corruption in Higher Educational System in Georgia and Ukraine

1. Ketevan Rostiashvili - Researcher
2. Olga Pischulina

Team 5

Human Trafficking

Georgi Glonti - Researcher

Team 6

History and Roots of Organized Crime and Corruption in Georgia
Public Attitudes toward Corruption

1. Givi Lobzhanidze - Senior Research Fellow, "Institute of the Thieves in-Law, its Influence on the Politics and the Political System of Georgia"
2. Ani Morgoshia - Junior Research Fellow, "Italian Anticorruption Legal Policy"

Our Interns

1. Elina A. Treyger - Ph.D. Candidate, Harvard Department of Government; J.D. Candidate, Harvard Law School
2. Colleen Traughber - Master of Arts in Law and Diplomacy, The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University
3. Kristin Hoeltge
4. Stephen Antwine
5. Susanne Gentz
6. Eric Barrett - Graduate Student at University of Texas

Our Volunteers

1. Nana Janashia - Journalist of the Georgian magazine "Sarke"
2. Eliso Machitidze - Associate Professor of Tbilisi State University
3. Kety Chokheli - Student of the Small Academy
4. Tamuna Khintibidze - Student of Tbilisi State University

TraCCC Georgia Anti Money Laundering Project (AML)
TraCCC initiated a project on money laundering in early 2002. The project was funded at the request of the American Embassy in Georgia. Georgian specialists, policy-makers and parliamentarians attended a money laundering training program at ILEA (the International Law Enforcement Academy in Budapest) in June 2000. They found the research and analysis so valuable that a request was made for a similar project in Georgia. TraCCC's Georgian money laundering project is sponsored by the US Department of Justice and is designed to combat money laundering in Georgia through research, training, and policy promotion.

TraCCC's analysis of money laundering builds on its examination of transnational crime and corruption. TraCCC is researching money laundering in Georgia from a multidisciplinary perspective. Drawing on the expertise of leading scholars and distinguished practitioners from the legal, financial and social science communities, we are analyzing the problems of privatization, the banking sector, and Georgia's legal framework and institutions for combating money laundering.

The TraCCC Georgia Money Laundering Project assembles teams of interdisciplinary Georgian Scholars to effectively address the many different aspects of money laundering. Our research projects seek to identify the sources of illegal proceeds, how they are laundered, and what policy responses can be formulated to combat money laundering.


TraCCC Georgia Anti Money Laundering Project has the following structure:

Management and Administration

Shalva Machavariani - Director of Anti Money Laundering Project

Londa Esadze - Coordinator of Anti Money Laundering Project

Svetlana Kevkhishvili - Administrative Assistant of Anti Money Laundering Project

Consultants

David Chelidze - Consultant of Anti Money Laundering Project

The current research subjects of the TraCCC Georgia Money Laundering Project includes:

• Economic Crime in the tobacco business and ways to overcome it
• Service Tariffs Used for Transit of Natural Gas to Armenia through Georgian Gas Pipeline
• Distribution of Financial resources by State Officials
• Economic Crime in the Civil Aviation Sector
• Problems of Realization of American Wheat in Georgian Market
• Estimation of corruption scale in Georgian Railway, its reasons and way out
• Determination of the fairness of existing tariffs in the Energy Sector
  
  

In previous years of our scholars have focused on the following areas of economic crime and money laundering in Georgia:

Industry Research Grants:

• Economic crime and money laundering in the energy sector and objective solutions to overcome them;
• Money laundering and economic crime within the export-import industries and objective solutions to overcome them;
• Money laundering and economic crimes in the fields of transport and communication and objective solutions to overcome them;
• Money laundering and economic crimes in flour and bread production and objective solutions to overcome them;
• Improved civil service: a key condition for overcoming corruption and the shadow economy.
  
  

Small Grants:

• Discovering and preventing illegal income in the capital market of Georgia;
• Money laundering in the construction industry;
• Casinos and other gambling businesses as one of the most effective mechanisms for laundering illegally received proceeds;
• Declaration of income as a measure against money laundering;
• Laundering black money as a threat for the financial security of the country;
• Problems stemming from privatization and unregistered traffic in the Georgian telecommunications system that provide increased possibilities for money laundering and economic crime;
• Money laundering in the insurance industry of Georgia;
• Debt factoring: a mechanism for money laundering in Georgia;
• Public Administration (including the use of "black budgets" and misuse of government revenue);
• Terrorist financing;
• Money laundering in the tourism and hotel industry sectors;
• Foreign banks as intermediaries between Georgian banks and western and offshore companies;
• Export and import firms as covers for money laundering.