Ruling party official claims GD founder “de facto sanctioned”

Kakha Kaladze, the Mayor of Tbilisi and Secretary General of the ruling Georgian Dream party, on Tuesday claimed Bidzina Ivanishvili, the Honorary Chair and the founder of the ruling party, had been “de facto sanctioned” in the West.

Kaladze’s comment followed after the United States Embassy in Tbilisi on Tuesday claimed that “Ivanishvili knows that the issue of money related to Credit Suisse is in the hands of the courts of Bermuda and Singapore, not the American one”, in reference to Ivanishvili’s long-running battle with Credit Suisse to reclaim funds stolen by a former employee of the Swiss bank.

In his remarks over the matter, the ruling party official stressed “not a single step” would be taken “against the country’s interests” despite “blackmail”, in reference to alleged efforts by some of the country’s Western partners ahead of the parliamentary elections this month.

These funds are his property. Bidzina Ivanishvili won a court case in Bermuda, Singapore. The decision has been made, and accordingly, who or why is withholding the said funds? Bidzina Ivanishvili has been de facto sanctioned, because he is blackmailed with the fate of the country. They are blackmailing us to open a second front in the country [amid the ongoing war in Ukraine], to join the [Russian] sanctions”, Kaladze claimed.

“Trust me, the country's interests will not be compromised. We will maintain our sovereignty, independence and, of course, peace. No sanctions, no personal welfare [will make us give up the country’s interests]. They do not know Bidzina Ivanishvili well. Believe me, not a single step will be taken against the country. We will always protect the interests of our people and country”, he noted.

Kaladze further added a statement by unspecified American congressmembers that the United States should sanction Ivanishvili in order to “save democracy” in Georgia was “absurd”.

He also contrasted the statement with the portrayal of the “evil, bloody” regime represented by the “collective” United National Movement Government as a “beacon of democracy” by some of the country’s Western partners during its spell in power.