What the embassy can do
Embassies can give you contacts, such as local lawyers, but do not run proceedings for you. The FCDO states that it cannot provide legal advice or get involved in private disputes over property.
Property scams. Every scheme has a check that exposes it.
In short
Much property fraud in Georgia follows a few patterns: payment to a personal account, a flat sold twice, a seller who is not the owner, fake listings and deadline pressure. Many of these schemes are exposed by an NAPR registry extract or a check against the business register. If it has already happened, call your bank at once and report it to the police.
The seven schemesHow to check a legitimate developer is covered in a separate guide. This one is about people who never intend to deliver.
Checking a developerScheme and check
Seven schemes, seven checks.
In November 2025 Forbes Polska described cases of Polish buyers defrauded when buying flats in Georgia. The patterns below come from that report, from regulators' warning signs and from the way the Georgian registry works.
Payment to a personal account
Scheme: a deposit or instalment is to go to an agent's or employee's account, or to a company in a third country, often after an email with new bank details. Check: the account holder must be the company named in the contract and in the NAPR business register. Confirm any new details by phone, on a number you looked up yourself.
One flat, two buyers
Scheme: the same flat is sold to several buyers under preliminary contracts. Check: agree with the seller that your claim under the preliminary contract is pre-registered in the registry. A pre-registration rules out the registration of other rights over the flat unless agreed otherwise, and the extract shows whether someone else already holds one.
A seller who is not the owner
Scheme: someone sells a flat they do not own, or presents a forged power of attorney. Check: the name on the registry extract must match the seller's passport or company record. Have any power of attorney confirmed by the notary who certified it.
Fake listings
Scheme: photos and floor plans are copied from other listings and the price sits well below the market. Check: ask for the cadastral code and look it up in the registry. A reverse image search reveals copied photos. Ask for a video call from inside the flat showing the street and entrance.
Intermediaries who vanish
Scheme: an intermediary with no company takes a reservation fee or commission and then cannot be reached. Forbes Polska described intermediaries paid by the developer and working without liability insurance. Check: a written contract with a registered company, never cash, and never a payment to the intermediary personally.
Deadline pressure
Scheme: a discount is valid only today, the last flat is about to go, the contract is to be signed over dinner. Check: Germany's financial regulator BaFin lists time pressure as a warning sign, and the FCA warns against offers that reward investing quickly. Sign only once your lawyer has read the contract.
A different flat from the one promised
Scheme: renderings, floor area or finish level differ markedly from the flat eventually handed over. Forbes Polska reports developers advertising flats as white frame and selling them as black frame. Check: the finish level, area and floor plan belong in the contract as annexes, not only in the brochure.
If it has happened
What to do straight away.
The first hours count, especially with bank transfers. Work through the steps in this order.
- 1
Call your bank
Ask your bank at once to recall the transfer. Whether that works depends on whether the money is still with the recipient and whether the receiving bank cooperates. There is no guarantee, but every day of delay makes success less likely.
- 2
Secure the evidence
Save contracts, receipts, transfer confirmations, chats and emails with their headers. Take dated screenshots of the listings and note the names, phone numbers and bank details of everyone involved.
- 3
Report it
In Georgia you can reach the police on the emergency number 112 or at any police station. Fraud is a criminal offence under Art. 180 of the Criminal Code. In England, Wales and Northern Ireland you can also report it to Report Fraud, the service that replaced Action Fraud in December 2025. In Scotland, report it to Police Scotland on 101. German residents can go to their local police, and polizei-beratung.de explains how.
- 4
Instruct a lawyer and check the registry
An independent lawyer in Georgia assesses whether you can sue and have assets frozen. Have the registry checked for the rights recorded against the flat and for any change since you paid.
Beware the second scam
After a loss, firms often appear offering to recover the money for an upfront fee. Pay nobody a recovery fee, and work only with a lawyer you have chosen yourself.
Frequently asked questions
Questions about fraud.
Spotting it, checking, responding.
How can I spot a property scam in Batumi?
By a handful of patterns: payment to a personal account, a price far below the market, a seller who is not in the registry and pressure to sign at once. An NAPR registry extract and a check against the business register expose many cases.
Can I pay a deposit to an estate agent?
Pay deposits only to the company named in the contract and entered in the business register. An agent may charge a commission if you have agreed one in writing, but should never take the purchase price or a reservation fee into a personal account.
How do I stop my flat being sold twice?
Agree with the seller that your claim is pre-registered in the public registry. Pre-registration rules out other entries over the flat unless agreed otherwise. Check the extract first to see whether someone else already holds one.
What should I do if I have been defrauded?
Call your bank immediately and ask it to recall the transfer. Secure all records and report the matter to the police in Georgia, where fraud is an offence under Art. 180 of the Criminal Code. An independent lawyer can then assess a civil claim.
Can the British Embassy get my money back?
No. Embassies provide contacts and information but do not run proceedings for you. Your route is through the police, a lawyer and the courts in Georgia and, at home, through Report Fraud or Police Scotland.
Last reviewed on November 2, 2026. Sources: Criminal Code of Georgia, Art. 180 (fraud) (matsne.gov.ge; as cited by the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia, police.ge), Law of Georgia on Public Registry, Art. 12 (pre-registration) (matsne.gov.ge); National Agency of Public Registry (napr.gov.ge), Forbes Polska (forbes.pl), 16 November 2025: report on Polish buyers defrauded in Georgia, FCDO (gov.uk): Consular assistance, what the FCDO can and cannot do, BaFin (bafin.de): warning sign of time pressure; FCA (fca.org.uk): Protect yourself from scams; City of London Police: Report Fraud (reportfraud.police.uk), live since 4 December 2025; polizei-beratung.de. This guide is not legal or tax advice.
Read next
More on a safe transaction.
When a reservation fee comes back to you, how to transfer the purchase price safely and when an agent makes sense.
Registry extract first, transfer second.
Every project page names the developer. Match that name against the contract, the registry and the account holder.