"Why should I save it? First, look at how they treat Bidzina Ivanishvili and what they did to him - they robbed him. In the full sense of the word, they robbed him, so why should I trust it?! I can’t imagine. No, of course, I don’t trust it," said Kakha Kaladze, the mayor of Tbilisi and general secretary of the ruling Georgian Dream, in response to journalists' questions about why he no longer keeps millions in European banks.
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"[Bidzina Ivanishvili] has been De facto sanctioned. A person who has won all kinds of lawsuits simply does not get their money back. This is a political decision. Unfortunately, there is no justice in today's world. This is a sad reality," Kaladze added.
Back in 2021-2022, one of the leaders of Georgian Dream had $ 4,200,000 in the Italian bank Intesa Sanpaolo, one of the largest banking groups in Europe. Additionally, in 2021, he had €3 672 375 and $765 000 deposited in the Swiss bank Julius Baer.
As per property declarations, in June 2022, Kakha Kaladze lent $ 870,000 to an individual. At that time, he no longer had a Swiss bank account. In the declaration submitted in 2024, Kaladze indicated that he would no longer have an Italian bank account. The declaration also shows that in June 2023, he lent $ 4,200,000 to a legal entity (name not specified).
By the beginning of 2024, Kaladze had kept his money only at Georgian banks: TBC Bank, Bank of Georgia, and Cartu Bank.
Members of the opposition believe that Kakha Kaladze and other high-ranking officials of the Georgian Dream are afraid of sanctions, which is why they are trying to hide their assets. "They have started withdrawing money from banks and are storing it as cash at home so that America does not impose sanctions. In the event of sanctions, Kaladze will not be able to get a single penny from his account," said Besik Donadze, a member of the Coalition for Changes.
The founder of the ruling party and former Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili is not officially sanctioned. However, since Russia started its war against Ukraine, members of the Georgian Dream and the highest representatives of the government claim that he is under de facto sanctions. Bidzina Ivanishvili has a long-standing dispute with the now-bankrupt Swiss bank Credit Suisse.
On September 20, Voice of America reported that the United States has developed sanctions against Bidzina Ivanishvili and is considering imposing them in the near future. According to a source from Voice of America, the sanctions package may also include individuals associated with Ivanishvili.
Earlier, on September 16, the U.S. Treasury Department imposed financial sanctions on two high-ranking officials of the Georgian government - Zviad Kharazishvili, also known as Khareba, and his deputy, Mileri Lagazauri, director of the Department of Special Tasks at the Ministry of Internal Affairs - due to their roles in the violent suppression of peaceful protests against the Russian Law. The organizers of violent attacks on peaceful demonstrations, the leaders of ALT-Info, Konstantine Morgoshia and Zurab Makharadze, were also subject to financial sanctions. The U.S. included all four individuals on the Magnitsky List. Additionally, the State Department has imposed visa restrictions on more than 60 Georgian citizens and their family members who are responsible for or complicit in undermining democracy in Georgia. The names of those sanctioned have not been disclosed; however, according to the department, they include high-ranking government and municipal officials, law enforcement officials, business leaders, and individuals who spread misinformation and promote violent extremism.
