The United States of America has imposed sanctions on Bidzina Ivanishvili, the founder and honorary chairman of Georgian Dream, “for undermining Georgia's democratic and Euro-Atlantic future in favor of Russia."
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A statement issued by Secretary of State Antony Blinken indicates that the sanctions against Ivanishvili are based on Executive Order 14024, signed by President Joe Biden on April 15, 2021.
This order authorizes sanctions against individuals who are responsible for, complicit in, or directly or indirectly involved in, or who attempt to engage in, actions and policies that undermine democratic processes or institutions in the United States or abroad on behalf of, or for the direct or indirect benefit of, the government of the Russian Federation.
“Ivanishvili and Georgian Dream’s actions have eroded democratic institutions, enabled human rights abuses, and curbed the exercise of fundamental freedoms in Georgia.
Furthermore, they have derailed Georgia’s Euro-Atlantic future, a future the Georgian people overwhelmingly desire and the Georgian constitution mandates. The result has left Georgia vulnerable to Russia, which continues to occupy more than 20 percent of Georgia’s territory," stated U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
According to Blinken, the United States condemns the actions of Georgian Dream under Ivanishvili's leadership, including the ongoing violent repression of citizens, protesters, media representatives, human rights defenders, and opposition figures.
The decision to sanction Bidzina Ivanishvili was published on the website of the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). The sanctions, pursuant to Executive Order 14024, block all property and interests in property within the United States.
According to the department, while transactions and other dealings involving Ivanishvili are generally prohibited under OFAC’s sanctions, OFAC has issued General License 116. This license allows U.S. persons to engage in all types of transactions with entities in which Ivanishvili owns 50% or more, provided such entities are not themselves on the sanctions list. However, U.S. persons are prohibited from directly transacting with Ivanishvili.
General License 116 also permits non-U.S. persons to engage in transactions authorized under the license without risking sanctions under Executive Order 14024.
Additionally, under paragraph b of General License 116, certain transactions related to the litigation between Credit Suisse and Bidzina Ivanishvili in the Singapore Court of Appeals are not permitted. A separate authorization is required to enforce any judgment, order, or settlement arising from the litigation and to make any payments.
Currently, seven Georgian citizens are listed on OFAC’s Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List: Bidzina Ivanishvili, Vakhtang Gomelauri, Mirza Kezevadze, Zviad Kharazishvili, Mileri Lagazauri, Zurab Makharadze, and Konstantine Morgoshia.
