A Georgian executive of a large Ukrainian agribusiness flew back to Tbilisi late on Dec. 22 after being refused entry at Boryspil airport the day before, the Kyiv Post has learned.
George Kikvadze, managing
director of Terra Food, told the Kyiv Post by phone that he decided to fly back
to Georgia “until this misunderstanding gets resolved at the diplomatic level.”
He left behind his wife and
Ukraine-born son in Kyiv. He has a residency permit in Ukraine and has lived
here for the past five years.
According to the
American-educated executive, he was told by border guards at the airport that
the State Security Service, or the SBU, had refused him entry.
On Dec. 8 Party of Regions
lawmaker Oleh Tsaryov reportedly sent a list of 36 foreigners to the SBU and
foreign ministry, which included Georgians, as part of an official inquiry
asking the government bodies to not let them enter the country.
Kikvadze’s name is listed 32nd on the list of 36
foreigners. Also on
the list is Georgian citizen Lasha Mikava, the chairman of Ukrtelecom, the
nation’s largest fixed-line telephone operator that belongs to billionaire
Rinat Akhmetov.
The inquiry accuses
foreigners on the list of being “national security threats.”
“I am appalled (at not
being let in),” Kikvadze told the Kyiv Post on Dec. 21. “I’ve worked here for
the past five years bringing in investments…my son is a Ukrainian citizen, I’ve
permanent residency status.”
Asked whether there could
be legal grounds for not allowing him to enter Ukraine, Kikvadze said “there’s
absolutely no reason…yes, I’ve been on the Maidan (at the pro-European rally in
Independence Square)…yes I’ve posted pictures of the many people there on
Facebook…but I have not called on or instigated violence.”
On Dec. 20 Ukrainian
authorities deported Davit Kakulia from Ukraine, a Georgian journalist from
Georgia’s Rustavi 2 television station, according to Radio Free Europe Radio
Liberty.
Prior to joining Terra
Foods in March, Kikvadze worked as chief investment officer at Ukrlandfarming
PLC, which belongs to billionaire Oleh Bakhmatiuk, the nation’s largest egg
producer. Prior to that, Kikvadze was chief executive officer of York Capital
Management CIS operations, a leading global alternative assets manager.
Kyiv Post editor Mark
Rachkevych can be reached at [email protected].
