When a young man walked into a payday lender in Tbilisi and took 19 people hostage on November 20, brandishing what appeared to be a rifle and hand grenades, it looked at first glance like a simple robbery.
But the would-be robber, 31-year-old carpenter Levan Zurabashvili, did not ask for money. Instead, he demanded the Georgian government implement several policy changes.
First off, gambling must be banned all across Georgia, Zurabashvili said, as the scene played out on live television. Second: annual interest rates on bank loans must be fixed at no more than 7 percent.
Some of the hostages interrupted, arguing that 7 percent would still be far too high. In the European Union the rate is about 3 percent, one man pointed out.
Can I fin…
Read the full article at: https://eurasianet.org/modern-day-robin-hood-inspires-georgians-drowning-in-debt