Georgia’s Interior Ministry is paying GEL 146,000, or about $55,800, to renew IKAR Lab 3, a Russian forensic voice-analysis system used to examine, clean, verify and identify speakers in audio recordings, including recordings from phone calls, covert surveillance and security cameras.
The system is produced by St. Petersburg-based Speech Technology Center, also known as STC Group, a company under U.S., UK and EU sanctions. The company has been described as having roots in Soviet-era speech analysis and audio forensics programs linked to the Soviet Communications Ministry and the KGB.
According to RFE/RL, the Interior Ministry is buying a one-year renewal of the existing license through simplified procurement, covering the period from September 1, 2026 to August 31, 2027. The purchase is being made from Expert Systems, a Batumi-registered Georgian company that says it is the exclusive distributor of IKAR Lab 3 in Georgia.
The Interior Ministry told RFE/RL it is actively looking for alternatives to the Russian software and is negotiating with Czech and British manufacturers to introduce new Western technology.
Open procurement records show that Georgia has spent more than GEL 500,000, or about $191,000, on products from the same Russian company in 2023–2026. In 2024, when STC was already sanctioned, the ministry paid GEL 239,499, or about $91,600, for voice-signal equipment and software. In 2023, it paid GEL 223,400, or about $85,400, for similar Russian voice-analysis technology.
The U.S. sanctioned Speech Technology Center in August 2024, saying the company developed and supplied AI-based facial, voice and biometric recognition systems to Russian law enforcement, the FSB and military structures. The UK and EU later imposed sanctions as well.
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