US sanctions against Ivanishvili ‘ready for implementation’

The US government has reportedly prepared a package of sanctions against Georgian Dream founder Bidzina Ivanishvili which they are considering imposing ‘in the near future’.

Voice of America reported the news on Friday, citing anonymous US government sources as saying that the US Treasury and State Departments had been leading the development of the package. While previously only discussed, the package is now reportedly ‘ready for implementation’ pending a political decision.

The sources did not indicate whether the sanctions were planned to be implemented prior to the 26 October parliamentary elections in Georgia as the ruling Georgian Dream party and Ivanishvili aggressively escalate their anti-Western rhetoric.

Voice of America reported that two ‘high-ranking officials’ claimed that the US government had information suggesting Ivanishvili ‘took steps to develop relationships with Russian oligarchs and took actions to provide Russia with better access to the Georgian market’. According to one source, Ivanishvili ‘carried out certain activities following directives from the Russian intelligence service’.

The report surfaced three days after Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze’s combative response to recent US sanctions imposed on four Georgian nationals, including two senior law enforcement officials. In response to the sanctions, Kobakhidze summoned US Ambassador Robin Dunnigan, telling her that Georgia would ‘fundamentally reassess’ its relations with the US in the case of further sanctions.

Reports of US sanctions against Ivanishvili also came two days before Kobakhidze’s departure to New York, where he is expected to deliver a speech at the 79th session of the UN General Assembly on Wednesday.

While his office reported that Kobakhidze was not scheduled to meet with any US officials, Gia Khukhashvili, a political analyst and former advisor to Ivanishvili, claimed that Kobakhidze had reached out to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu through ‘high-ranking Israeli officials’ to help him secure an ‘immediate’ meeting with ‘Sullivan’ — an apparent reference to US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan. 

Sullivan has since last year been critical of the ruling party in Georgia for its repeated efforts to pass legislation targeting civil society organisations, including the controversial foreign agent law.

In addition to reports of sanctions being imposed on Ivanishvili, the billionaire founder of the ruling party and his allies could also face potential repercussions from the Georgian People’s Act, a bipartisan bill currently awaiting committee approval for a US Senate vote this week.

The bill suggests pausing US financial assistance to the Georgian government and redirecting the funds to local civil society organisations. It also calls for imposing travel restrictions and sanctions on individuals involved in supporting the foreign agent law, as well as those linked to corruption and human rights abuses in Georgia.

The EU has also repeatedly criticised Georgia over the foreign agent law, which it adopted in May.

On 20 September, the EU Parliament called on the EU Commission to suspend financial aid to Georgia, ‘review’ the country’s membership candidacy, and impose targeted sanctions on senior Georgian officials if the upcoming elections are not conducted fairly.