Husband Of Georgia's US Ambassador Linked To Moscow-Based Law Firm: Report

The husband of Georgia's newly appointed ambassador to the United States has been linked to a Moscow-based company serving Russian businesses under international sanctions.

The documents and archived records, obtained by OC Media, show that Tamar Taliashvili's husband, Davit Kukhalashvili, is the director of a law firm, DTK Partners, that has advised clients on navigating EU and US sanctions.

Established in 2014, the firm specialises in sanctions law.

Mikhail Zagaynov, the current managing partner and longtime associate of Kukhalashvili, confirmed that DTK Partners has extensive experience helping clients affected by sanctions, cross-border rules, and asset restrictions.

The firm explains ways to recover frozen assets, including through the Belgian Treasury, and helps clients with all the paperwork and contesting appeals if requests are initially denied.

Documents reveal that even though his name was removed from the firm's website earlier this year, archived versions of the site showed he was managing director until a week after his wife became ambassador.

Following Russia's annexation of Crimea in 2014 and the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Western governments imposed sweeping restrictions on Moscow. So, Russian law firms adapted by helping clients recover frozen assets and navigate complicated US and European sanctions rules.

The report also states that Kukhalashvili has worked on legal cases for major Russian institutions like SPB Bank and National Settlement Depository, which are under EU and US sanctions.

DTK Partners also worked with other companies, including McDonald's operations in Kazakhstan and Lukoil, a Russian oil company under US sanctions.

Robert Hamilton, a leading US-based analyst on Eurasia and President of the Delphi Global Research Centre, told OC Media that because DTK Partners works in areas of special interest to the Kremlin, it likely doesn't operate fully independently.

"In Putin's Russia, every major private organisation — from law firms to corporations to media outlets — needs top cover from the Kremlin to operate effectively," he said.

He added that by appointing an ambassador whose spouse has clear Russian links, the Georgian government may be reassuring Moscow that it intends to maintain a close relationship with Russia.