Vice Speaker of the Parliament and the ruling Georgian Dream MP Nino Tsilosani responded to the statement from the United States Embassy in Georgia, which noted that "Bidzina Ivanishvili knows that the money related to Credit Suisse is under the jurisdiction of the courts in Bermuda and Singapore, not the United States."
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As Tsilosani says, she is surprised that the embassy accepted the statements from Georgian Dream representatives.
"To be honest, I don't recall where the official side of the United States of America was mentioned regarding the freezing of these funds. Therefore, it is somewhat surprising to me why the US Embassy identified itself as a side and chose to be accused of freezing these funds. The only Georgian proverb that comes to my mind is 'the thief has a burning hat.' I am very surprised by this statement published on the embassy's website, and I hope that there is some misunderstanding on their part and some wrong step," Tsilosani told reporters.
The honorary chairman of Georgian Dream, former Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili, has not been sanctioned. However, since the start of Russia's war in Ukraine, senior officials of Georgian Dream have repeatedly claimed that he is "under de facto sanctions" from the West.
"A person has won a court case in Bermuda; a decision has been made. So, who or why is withholding these funds? Why don't they return them to this person? Bidzina Ivanishvili is de facto sanctioned because he is being blackmailed with the country's fate. They are blackmailing him to open a second front in the country and that we have to join the sanctions," said Kakha Kaladze, general secretary of Georgian Dream.
Under the pretext of these de facto sanctions, Ivanishvili refused to meet with US Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Jim O'Brien during his visit to Tbilisi in May and did not meet with other foreign diplomats and politicians.
"In all instances, the reason for refusal has been the same: Bidzina Ivanishvili maintains that he is already under de facto sanctions. He alleges that $2 billion he entrusted to the West ended up in the hands of the Global War Party. Consequently, Bidzina Ivanishvili's stance is that he cannot engage in any meetings under such conditions of blackmail. This position is very clear. Once this blackmail and de facto sanctions are lifted, any meeting can be scheduled immediately," Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze stated.
Bidzina Ivanishvili was a client of the now-bankrupt Swiss bank Credit Suisse from 2005 to 2015. In courts in Bermuda and Singapore, he is disputing that he has suffered hundreds of millions of dollars in damages as a result of fraud by his banking adviser, Patrice Lescadron. In July 2024, the Singapore Court of Appeal ruled that Credit Suisse Trust Limited should pay USD 742.73 million to Bidzina Ivanishvili's family. As for the ongoing dispute in the Bermuda court, Credit Suisse Life Limited was ordered to pay Bidzina Ivanishvili 607 million US dollars.
According to Bloomberg's estimates, Ivanishvili's fortune is growing. If its value was 6.05 billion dollars on September 30, 2023, today it is valued at 7.55 billion.
