The Georgian Statutory Framework of Whistleblower Programs
The Georgian statutory framework of a whistleblower program — the mechanism of internal reporting on suspicious transactions — lies in the law on the prevention of money laundering and terrorism financing. The law builds the channel from employee to responsible person, protects the fact of reporting from disclosure and defines the guarantee of decision-making independence. At the same time, the multi-tier channel model of the European whistleblowing directive is non-Georgian and cannot carry this page; a full administrative regime of protection from dismissal requires a separate law — that issue is treated on another of our pages. Here the carrier is the Georgian regime of internal reporting.
The Anatomy of the Internal Channel — From Employee to Service
An accountable person must submit to the Financial Monitoring Service a report on a suspicious transaction or an attempt to prepare, conclude or perform such a transaction. The internal channel of a whistleblower program is precisely the forward perimeter of this duty: an employee who, in the course of activity, notices a transaction not matching the client's profile or connected with illegally obtained property supplies the information to the responsible person, and the responsible person to the service. The law also recognizes the splitting of transaction amounts: connected transactions are detected to prevent the client's evasion of the prescribed measures. The National Agency of Public Registry also, in specified cases, submits a report on a suspicious transaction before the registration of a right over immovable property, and if the service does not exercise its authority within no later than 24 hours of receiving the report, the registration process continues. The internal reporting system is thus part of a single state mechanism.
Protection from Disclosure
The accountable person, its managers and employees are prohibited from notifying the client or another person that measures are being taken to study an unusual transaction or detect a suspicious transaction, or that a report has been submitted to the service. This prohibition is the whistleblower's first and most important protection: disclosing the fact of reporting to the client — tipping-off — is a violation of law. At the same time, no liability may be imposed on the accountable person, its managers or employees for breach of a confidentiality duty where the obligation to submit the report to the service has been performed in good faith. The law also prohibits disclosing the identity of the employee who notices an unusual transaction or submits a report, and obliges the accountable person to protect that employee from threats, discriminatory treatment or other unlawful influence — this is the foundation of the Georgian whistleblower's protection.
The Guarantee of Independence
The third pillar of a whistleblower program is the status of the responsible person. The person or head of unit responsible for the functioning of the compliance control system must correspond to the top hierarchical level, be accountable to the governing person responsible for the system's effectiveness, and the law grants it the right to decide independently on the submission of reports. With an effective possibility it must timely be given any information needed for the performance of its functions. Such architecture excludes the possibility that the person on whose transaction reporting depends influences the reporting decision.
What Is Not in This Regime
This framework does not include rewards for reporting, multi-tier complaint channels or a full administrative appeal mechanism against dismissal — these institutions require separate regulation in Georgian law and are not discussed here. The existing regime is complete in its own part: it defines who, what and how must conduct internal and external reporting and how the whistleblower is protected from disclosure and pressure.
To implement the compliance control system, the accountable person works out an internal instruction, approved by its governing organ or the person holding leading authority. The instruction defines the rights and duties of the person responsible for the system, the rules of staff selection for hiring persons of high qualification and reputation, a continuing training programme, and an independent audit function for checking the system’s effectiveness. The contour of the external channel is likewise in the law: the Revenue Service submits to the service a report on the movement across the customs border of cash or securities exceeding 30 000 GEL or its equivalent in foreign currency, including movement bypassing customs control or by incorrect declaration.
Frequently Asked Questions
Below we summarise the questions that arise most often in practice on this topic.
Who must operate the internal reporting channel?
The accountable person: information about a suspicious transaction noticed by an employee goes to the responsible person, and by its decision to the Financial Monitoring Service.
May the client be notified of a report?
No — notifying the client or another person about the report or the measures is prohibited by law.
How does the law protect the whistleblowing employee?
Disclosing the employee's identity is prohibited, no liability attaches to good-faith reporting, and the employer must protect the employee from threats and discrimination.
Who decides on submitting a report?
The person responsible for the compliance control system — independently, standing at the top hierarchical level and accountable to the governing person.
How We Help on Legal.ge
Our team will help you design the internal reporting channel, formulate the responsible person's functions and independence guarantees, write non-disclosure provisions and prepare a staff training programme. Contact us on Legal.ge — we will build a whistleblower program that fully complies with the law and genuinely protects employees.