🤫 Banking Secrecy Index in Georgia

Banking Secrecy Index in Georgia

The Banking Secrecy Index measures the degree of banking confidentiality and willingness to engage in international information exchange on account data. Important: a higher score means more transparency (less secrecy). Georgia achieves 52/100 and rank 104 out of 231 — a middle-range value that describes a transitional situation: more openness than classic tax havens, but less than Western European states with full OECD integration.

CRS Membership and Actual Transparency

Georgia joined the OECD's Common Reporting Standard (CRS) in 2019 and automatically exchanges account information with over 100 partner countries. In concrete terms: anyone resident for tax purposes in a CRS member state (EU, UK, Australia, Canada, etc.) who holds a Georgian account will be automatically reported to their home tax authority. Georgian accounts are not invisible.

For US citizens, FATCA applies separately: Georgia has a FATCA IGA agreement with the USA; US citizens must report their Georgian accounts on FBAR and, where applicable, Form 8938.

Why the Score Is Not Higher

• Fewer active bilateral TIEA treaties than Western European states
• Historically permissive account management for non-residents (a strength for the expat-banking-ease score, but weakening for the transparency score)
• Regulatory maturity level still below EU standard (PSD2, Open Banking)

Georgia as an Offshore Location: The Real Situation

ARTICLES_EN circulating online market Georgia as a "tax haven." This characterisation is exaggerated. What is true: a territorial tax system for individuals, low corporate taxes. What is not true: Georgia is no longer a banking secrecy state. CRS exchange has been running since 2019, accounts are traceable, the NBG has actively built out anti-money-laundering prevention.

Comparison

• Cayman Islands (43), Panama (33): Significantly less transparency than Georgia
• Georgia (52): Middle position — CRS-compliant, but not at full EU integration level
• United States (42), Portugal (38): Lower scores mean more banking secrecy here (asset management tradition)
• Estonia (35): Very transparent, fully EU-integrated

What Expats Should Note

The most important implication: those tax-resident in a CRS state who hold a Georgian account should declare it correctly. The era of Georgian accounts flying under the radar ended in 2019.

Conclusion: Georgia's banking secrecy score of 52/100 positions the country as moderately transparent: CRS-compliant, no anonymous banking, but not yet at full EU integration level. For legal financial planning, no problem; undeclared assets in Georgia are just as traceable as in most Western European countries.

This article was created on April 13, 2026