Bidzina Ivanishvili and family reportedly transfer offshore assets to Georgia

Bidzina Ivanishvili and family reportedly transfer offshore assets to Georgia

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Transparency International (TI) — Georgia has reported that Bidzina Ivanishvili, the founder and honorary chair of the ruling Georgian Dream party, as well as  his family members, have begun moving their assets from offshore zones back to Georgia.

On Wednesday, TI stated ‘it is likely that by the end of this process, the Ivanishvili family will have fully transferred their Georgian assets from offshore structures’, worth around ₾163 million ($57 million) in registered capital.

‘As of 29 January, Bidzina Ivanishvili and his eldest son, Uta Ivanishvili, have fully transferred companies from four offshore entities: 1) Visalia Enterprises Limited (Belize), 2) Gilmar Holding Limited (Belize), 3) Fresno Management Limited (Belize), 4) Limestone Finance International SA (Panama)’, the report read.

On 27 December of last year, the US sanctioned Ivanishvili for ‘undermining the democratic and Euro-Atlantic future of Georgia for the benefit of the Russian Federation’.

US sanctions Bidzina Ivanishvili

The billionaire founder of the ruling Georgian Dream was sanctioned for undermining Georgia’s democracy for Russia’s benefit.

OC MediaYousef Bardouka

The sanctions against Ivanishvili froze his US assets, if any, and prohibits US citizens and entities from conducting business with him without specific authorisation from the US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC).

The OFAC also issued a general license allowing US persons to engage in all transactions with any entity in which Ivanishvili owns a 50% or more share — provided that the entity is not on the Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons list.

According to local media, from 31 December to 20 January Ivanishvili, his wife Ekaterina Khvedelidze, and son Uta Ivanishvili registered four new joint-stock companies in Georgia, including JSC Atu Holding, JSC Terra, JSC Lusol, and JSC GCF Georgia.

On 13 January, UK MP James MacCleary introduced a motion to sanction Ivanishvili in the House of Commons, which already has 25 signatories.

TI suggested that the Ivanishvilis were ‘likely taking advantage’ of tax code amendments passed in April 2024, which exempt companies from income and profit taxes if they transfer all of their assets, including shares and stocks, into Georgia.

Both opposition politicians and analysts have criticised the changes to Georgia’s tax code, claiming they could lead to a flow of illicit money into the country and that the hasty changes could be an attempt by Ivanishvili to avoid any Western sanctions by bringing his wealth to Georgia.

‘At the time, Transparency International Georgia noted that the amendments to the tax code were likely designed to serve Bidzina Ivanishvili’s interests’, TI’s report read.

Georgian Dream eliminates taxes on offshore assets brought to Georgia

Georgia’s ruling party has hastily pushed through legal amendments exempting taxes and duties on offshore assets being brought into the country — a move seen by many as preparation for Bidzina Ivanishvili to move his assets to Georgia. Georgian Dream introduced the amendments on 10 April, and q…

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