"If they don't comply (with the Russian Law on Foreign Agents), there are financial penalties, then their accounts are seized, and then they can't function. They will not be able to receive the funds that they receive. If you are doing a good job and have no evil intentions, what is the problem of filling out the declaration and showing your finances - where do you get your income from and what specific projects are financed? However, there is doubt that the polarization, the financing of the revolutionary scenario, all happened because of this lack of transparency," said Kakha Kaladze, the ruling Georgian Dream general secretary and Tbilisi mayor.
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He does not expect to be punished either personally or his teammates. "We have not done anything to be subject to sanctions. How can you impose sanctions on people who make laws in their own country, and the majority of the country's population has given the right to do so, for example, to the deputies and the government, which is represented as the government today? I am sure that there will be no sanctions," said Kaladze.
Georgian Parliament Chairman, Shalva Papuashvili, signed the Russian Law today. The law was published in the Legislative Gazette today.
Based on the law, all non-governmental and media organizations whose income is more than 20% from grants received from international organizations will have to register as an organization carrying the interests of a foreign power. Such organizations are obliged to apply to the public registry agency in August and request registration as an organization carrying the interests of a foreign power.
Avoiding registration or failing to submit the financial declaration within the established period will result in a fine of 25,000 GEL. The law provides for additional fines of 10,000 and 20,000 GEL for non-compliance with the requirements of the Ministry of Justice.
In addition, the Ministry of Justice has the right to fine all persons (including physical) 5000 GEL for failure to submit the requested information. The Ministry of Justice can request personal data, commercial, professional, and confidential information from individuals.
More than a hundred public organizations and online publications have announced that they will not register in the Agents’ registry. Some of the organizations plan to appeal
