The Embassy of the United States of America in Georgia states that Bidzina Ivanishvili, the founder and honorary chairman of the ruling Georgian Dream, is aware that the funds related to Credit Suisse are under the jurisdiction of the courts in Bermuda and Singapore. However, he presents the situation to the people of Georgia in a different light.
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"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. So why is he telling Georgians a different story?" reads the statement published by the embassy on its Facebook page.
The former Prime Minister of Georgia, billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili, is not officially sanctioned. However, following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, senior officials of Georgian Dream have repeatedly stated that he is under "de facto sanctions" from the West. Due to this, Ivanishvili refused to meet with U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs, Jim O'Brien, during his visit to Tbilisi in May, as well as 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," said Irakli Kobakhidze, Chairman of the Georgian Dream party.
O'Brien confirmed that there are no sanctions against Ivanishvili at this time. As the senior American official said, “for such an influential individual to be that badly misinformed is shocking and disappointing.”
"For the Prime Minister to say that that is a reason that one of Georgia’s most important partners cannot meet with this citizen is to elevate that individual interest above the country’s constitutional commitment to working more with international partners and joining the EU and NATO," O'Brien remarked at the conclusion of his visit to Tbilisi.
Bidzina Ivanishvili was a client of the now-bankrupt Swiss bank Credit Suisse from 2005 to 2015. He has been involved in legal battles in courts in Bermuda and Singapore, claiming hundreds of millions of dollars in damages due to fraud by his banking adviser, Patrice Lescaudron. In July 2024, the Singapore Court of Appeal ruled that Credit Suisse Trust Limited must pay Ivanishvili's family $742.73 million. Meanwhile, in a separate case, Bermuda's court ordered Credit Suisse Life Limited to pay him $607 million.
Bloomberg estimates Ivanishvili's current net worth at $7.55 billion, placing him 403rd among the world’s 500 richest people. A year earlier, on September 30, 2023, his net worth was valued at $6.05 billion.
