News

1. Clarification on the nature of Next's document falsification

   November 7, 2026 at 7:35 PM (UTC)

   I reviewed the public service announcement for investors in Batumi and found something worth clarifying: the documents falsified by Next are not signed contracts. What Next did was not signature forgery, it was document falsification. They demanded signatures on two falsified documents under coercion.

   What was written in the page was “under falsified contracts”. Indeed, the disputed debt they enforce is written in a falsified contract, sent to me for signature. To my knowledge, no signature was forged, even though a clause of those contracts is applied to me without signature. I have now written “falsified documents” instead to remove any possibility of confusion. I have also updated my personal page, which contained the same wording.

   The clarification comes out of my own initiative.

2. Silence from local developers, but not from social media

   November 7, 2026 at 2:56 PM (UTC)

   After the deadline of 30 days, no local developer replied to my questionnaire on Batumi's real estate practices. I updated the public service announcement for investors in Batumi taking this silence into consideration.

   I have also shared the dossier on social media. On Reddit, I posted it to r/Sakartvelo as “Is the NEXT Group above the law?” (over 6,400 views, 46 comments, 12 upvotes) and to r/Batumi as “Is Batumi this lawless?” (over 6,900 views, 13 comments, 11 upvotes). On LinkedIn, I published the satirical guide “How to win ‘Best Hospitality Real Estate Project of the Year’ in Georgia, in twelve steps” (49 impressions).

   I welcome discussion with readers on those platforms. As with the Telegram and WhatsApp channels, they are not part of this record. Anything I state as fact, and any correction, is made here.

3. A much needed vacation

   November 3, 2026 at 1:41 AM (UTC)

   This week I am taking a much needed vacation. It has been four months working non-stop to recover access to my own home.

   I decided to spend some time with my family and closer to nature. Maybe I will learn from the capybaras how they can live so peacefully without elevators.

   I will not be able to answer emails until Saturday, but I remain reachable via WhatsApp, Telegram and Signal.

4. Report to the Radisson Hotel Group's Supplier Hotline

   November 1, 2026 at 5:35 PM (UTC)

   The Radisson Hotel Group applies a code of conduct to its suppliers, requiring respect for local laws and adherence to the United Nations' Universal Declaration of Human Rights, both of which Next is in breach of.

   Since Radisson Blu Residences was developed in partnership with Next, I decided to report the conduct described in this dossier via an email to the Radisson Hotel Group Supplier Hotline referred to in its supplier code of conduct, asking whether the code applies to the Next Group.

   The Radisson Hotel Group, in the same code of conduct, has made the following commitment:

   “If Radisson Hotel Group receives such a report, the Supplier will be asked to comment and, if necessary, Radisson Hotel Group may request an improvement plan to correct the issue. If the Supplier does not act or respond to the report or concern – and is not willing to work on correcting the issue – the Supplier can be subjected to disciplinary actions, including termination as a Radisson Hotel Group Supplier and/or review by local authorities.

   Radisson Hotel Group will maintain confidentiality to the extent possible and will not tolerate any retribution or retaliation taken against any individual who has, in good faith, sought out advice or reported questionable behavior or a possible violation of this Supplier Code of Conduct.”

   Accordingly, I will post the developments in this dossier.

   Additionally, I have also communicated Levan Otarishvili's conduct directly to Next's legal team, via personnel found on LinkedIn and an email address sent to me in February.

5. Happy Halloween!

   October 31, 2026 at 2:17 PM (UTC)

   Happy Halloween!

   I have not decided my costume yet, but I am considering a chip reader and a one-page “receipt”.

   Over the past few days I have been on social media, and I realized that the presentation in the Summary, particularly the order facts were presented in, was better suited for readers who value contracts, law and titles. I have made several editorial changes so that page better addresses the concerns of readers who value reciprocity and fairness.

   Levan's and Gvantsa's pages now include their public professional profiles. Gvantsa's sets her published views on business and human rights beside the handling of my grievance of February 4, which, eight months on, has not been reviewed.

6. Best Hospitality Real Estate Project of the Year 2026

   October 29, 2026 at 7:19 PM (UTC)

   On October 28, at the 11th National Tourism Awards, Next Hospitality LLC received the award for Best Hospitality Real Estate Project of the Year 2026 for the Next White complex in Batumi.

   The evaluation process included “mystery guests”, who I am sure were allowed to use the elevators. I wrote to the organizers, the auditors and to the ELT Group, who presented the award, making them aware of this dossier and the conduct of the winner.

   I invite owners of apartments in buildings run by the Next Group to share their “best hospitality” experience with the organizers at info@tourismawards.ge.

7. Correction and request for information

   October 29, 2026 at 1:31 PM (UTC)

   Today, when reviewing my public service announcement on the Next Group, I identified an over-generalization, that Next controls the elevators in the buildings it sells. What I know for a fact is that they control them at Next White and that owners report that control on Next Orange and Next Apartments. I have thus issued a correction of my own initiative, which also clarifies where I know it employs the elevators as leverage.

   I would like to learn of the situation in other buildings built by Next, or in Batumi in general, and would be grateful for your reports. By "control" I don't mean just enforcing debts, but deciding and enforcing the elevator rules, instead of the homeowners' association. Please see my contacts.

8. Summary fixes, and a matter of honor

   October 27, 2026 at 2:17 PM (UTC)

   I made fixes to the Summary, including for errors that were introduced as a consequence of the large update on October 25.

   The most notable one is the reason the apartments are still obstructed. Until October 21, that I would not sign a waiver of claims against Next Hospitality LLC was the major reason Next would not grant me access. Today, they will not because of the debt they charged me without contract and without identifying the basis.

   I will not pay Next any money I do not owe them. In my view, Next sees good faith and generosity as weaknesses to be exploited. I paid them when they coerced me and I relied on their good faith and common sense, not suing them for my grievances. Not a week ago they were demanding a waiver of claims signed, and today they demand a debt they cannot identify paid. With people like this, I believe capitulation results in escalation. It is a matter of honor.

9. Email challenging Levan Otarishvili to answer questions and corrections to translations

   October 26, 2026 at 11:03 PM (UTC)

   Following up on yesterday's announcement, today I sent an email to Levan Otarishvili and to other staff at Next, in which I request answers to the following questions, and challenge him to produce them:

   1. Is the elevator access control system a debt collection mechanism?
   2. What is the basis of the debt he charges me?
   3. Are my legal analyses of the conduct of the Next group correct?
   4. Why did Next drop the requirement of a signature on the Act of Handover?
   5. Will he stop conditioning my access to property I co-own?
   6. Will he remove the access control system?

   I gave him a 14-day deadline to answer, and will record the answer, or his silence, in this dossier.

   In addition, several translations in the dossier have been corrected. Readers should always keep in mind that machine translations carry the risk of mistakes, and heed the warnings about possible mistranslations the dossier already contains.

10. Small victories and a challenge to Levan Otarishvili

    October 25, 2026 at 10:05 PM (UTC)

    On October 21, Next took a step back, for the first time since the lockout. Saba Tsiskaradze wrote to me and dropped the requirement to sign the Act of Handover in order to receive elevator chips. He still maintains that settling the disputed debt, whose basis he is unable to identify, is necessary for the chips to be activated, however.

    I also heard a report that the reception at Next White is now accepting parcels, albeit under the condition that owners warn them in advance.

    Updating the dossier to reflect these facts was a very long task, and I fixed some mistakes found during that process, hopefully not introducing others. Please note the technical issue with browser caches has still not been resolved, so please reload the page if it seems stale.

    I also made public an opinion I held in private: that Levan Otarishvili is a coward who hides behind his own junior staff. I substantiated this position on the grounds that his only letter to me so far was evasive and that instead of replying to my message directly, he uses his young staff to do his verbal dirty work of collecting unfounded debts and lying, exposing them to legal liabilities and a heavy conscience.

    I hereby make a challenge to Levan, which soon I will also deliver by email. Levan Otarishvili, If you are man enough to stop hiding behind your juniors, write to me a reply to my legal analyses of Next's criminal conduct and state the basis for this debt that your junior charged me and enforces. Let's speak man to man instead of through youngsters who I doubt ever wanted to grow up to do the kind of dirty work you are having them do.

11. The dossier is back

    October 24, 2026 at 12:27 PM (UTC)

    Regrettably, two of my devices malfunctioned, and I have since been unable to update this dossier. As long as the current makeshift device continues to work, the dossier will continue, though the cooler fan is certainly making noise it is not supposed to be making...

    Expect considerable updates over the next few days.

    The elevator lockout certainly had impact on the maintenance of my computer systems, another cost imposed by Next on me that no invoice shows, and of the kind they use to pressure owners into compliance.

12. The Permaweb and letters from the Prosecutor's Office

    October 7, 2026 at 5:40 PM (UTC)

    I created a page explaining how the website works under the hood, why it, in all its versions, is permanent and immutable and how to access previous versions. As readers now know how to access them, I decided to remove links to past retracted statements, to make it less likely they will be indexed by search engines.

    The Prosecutor's Office forwarded my application for a correction to my complaint from the Batumi District Prosecutor's Office to the Batumi City Division of the police.

13. Questionnaire sent to local developers and retractions

    October 6, 2026 at 12:17 PM (UTC)

    Yesterday and the day before, I sent a questionnaire to the major developers in Batumi. The deadline I set for answers is November 4, 2026. I will keep the public service announcement updated as they reply. The questionnaire is now mentioned there.

    On another public service announcement, to renters in Next White, I made two retractions. I had stated Next coerced landlords to sign the common area service agreement, using its coercion against me as evidence. However, I am not renting apartments (how could I, without elevators?) and cannot be considered a landlord.

    Furthermore, in the same page, I had presented a report from an owner as a fact regarding Next White's cleaning schedule.

14. Apology to the Next Group and summary updates

    October 5, 2026 at 6:17 PM (UTC)

    Today I wrote a page that compared the Next Group to a pest. I retract that comparison and apologize. It deviated from the factual tone of this dossier. I now refer instead to their parasitical behavior.

    I also removed two sarcastic comments from the same page.

    Finally, I updated one sentence in the Summary. Its meaning was clear, but not explicit. The mother climbing with a child was her allegation.

15. Mice, cockroaches and summary updates

    October 5, 2026 at 4:24 PM (UTC)

    I have included reports of mice, with video evidence, and cockroaches from owners of Next White and Next apartments.

    There is a new page on pests on Next buildings, which I added to the Summary.

    While being demanded to waive your claims to use the elevator when you need a wheelchair is an indignity, the fact this owner was mentioned next to another owner who allegedly needed to use the stairs made the whole sentence misleading. In respect to the readers of this dossier, I have separated that sentence in the Summary into two, to make it more clear.

16. Mistake in yesterday's news item's date

    October 5, 2026 at 12:05 PM (UTC)

    Yesterday, October 4, 2026, I published a news item incorrectly dated October 3, 2026. It was an editing mistake that I did not catch because of another error in the website and feed generator.

    I would not like my conduct to mirror that of the Next Group in backdating documents.

    My apologies for any inconvenience caused.

17. Technical issue with the website

    October 5, 2026 at 11:14 AM (UTC)

    For technical reasons that I do not currently understand, web browsers can retain stale versions of the web pages in this dossier and display them to users instead of updating their content automatically.

    If a page in this dossier seems outdated to you, particularly the news page and pages its news items reference, please simply reload the page.

    I will post another news item when this issue is confirmed to be resolved.

    My apologies for the inconvenience.

18. Warning from the Polish embassy, and an update on the owner who needs a wheelchair

    October 4, 2026 at 3:46 PM (UTC)

    The Polish embassy in Tbilisi had issued a warning for investors in Batumi, due to increased reports from Polish investors deceived by real estate developers. I added this dossier's public service announcement, which now mentions this fact, as a comment to that warning.

    I also spoke to the owner that needs a wheelchair. While it remains true that Next used elevator access as leverage to obtain his signature on the Act of Handover, he clarified that his legal counsel instructed him to sign it because he had no claims against Next Hospitality specifically. He protested having to sign the act, but that signature waived no claims. This dossier is not a hit piece, it is a factual account, and for the sake of honest communication with our readers, I removed the mentions of this owner from our public service announcement and from the page on the immoral conduct of the Next Group, even though they were technically correct prior to this update. This owner and I agreed it is best not to publish his other statements.

    Finally, a technical update. Our RSS feed now carries translation notes in non-native languages. If your feed reader shows updates to past feed items, that is the reason.

19. Statements from a wheelchair user and corrections

    October 3, 2026 at 8:07 PM (UTC)

    I have acquired consent from an owner who needs a wheelchair to publish his messages protesting the need to sign the Act of Handover in order to receive elevator access chips.

    I also made corrections to two statements, one that presented Next's valuations of owners as a fact and one that conflated using elevator access as leverage with its execution.

    The two outdated pages still exist as part of the permaweb, but they are not linked from this dossier any longer, except in this correction notice. The corrected pages have replaced them.

    Both corrections were identified and performed by myself, within a day of publication. They do not affect the substance of the dossier: Next operates an unlawfully installed access-control system on my co-owned elevators and demands a signature on a waiver of claims to provide me access.