The United States has developed sanctions against Bidzina Ivanishvili, the honorary chairman of Georgian Dream and former Prime Minister of Georgia, and is considering imposing them in the near future. Voice of America reported this based on information from two high-ranking officials of the U.S. government and two other sources close to the administration.
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As per sources, the sanctions package will be spearheaded by the U.S. Treasury and State Departments.
"We have information that Bidzina Ivanishvili took steps to strengthen ties with Russian oligarchs and to provide Russia with greater access to the Georgian market. In fact, he undertook certain actions at the direction of the Russian intelligence service," a high-ranking U.S. government official told Voice of America on condition of anonymity.
The basis for these sanctions is Executive Order 14024, issued by President Joe Biden on April 15, 2021. According to the high-ranking official, the executive order grants broad powers against individuals who engage in activities that undermine democratic institutions and values or are involved in international corruption. Various activities that benefit the Russian Federation are subject to sanctions.
"The U.S. government has a package of sanctions in place and is ready to adopt it... To pass the sanctions threshold, the administration needs to prove that the [sanctions target's] actions have crossed the legal threshold to show that those activities have a clear benefit to Russia. And the administration did it. It is not yet known if and when [the package] will be implemented, but the necessary work has been done," a source close to the administration told VOA, indicating that the administration still hopes that the Georgian government will return to a democratic course.
"The news is that while the sanctions were previously discussed, there is now a package ready for execution," said another source, responding to questions about how new the U.S. efforts in this direction are. Based on this source, the sanctions package may also target individuals associated with Ivanishvili, though he declined to provide details.
Executive Order 14024 imposes sanctions on the following categories of people:
- Individuals or organizations involved in malicious cyber activities or disinformation campaigns.
- Those undermining the democratic institutions or processes of the U.S. and its allies.
- Organizations or individuals operating in specific sectors of the Russian economy, including defense and energy.
- Those supporting Russia's occupation or aggression in Ukraine.
- Individuals responsible for human rights abuses, corruption, or repression linked to Russia.
According to Voice of America, when an individual is sanctioned under Executive Order 14024, their assets and interests within U.S. jurisdiction are frozen, and U.S. companies and citizens are prohibited from engaging in financial or business transactions with them. Additionally, the individual may face visa restrictions. Foreign companies that continue to work with a sanctioned individual risk facing sanctions themselves.
On Monday, September 16, the U.S. Treasury Department imposed financial sanctions on two high-ranking officials of the Georgian government Zviad Kharazishvili, Director of the Special Tasks Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, also known as Kharaba, and his deputy, Mileri Lagazauri - for violently suppressing peaceful protests against the Russian Law. Financial sanctions were also imposed on Konstantine Morgoshia and Zurab Makharadze, leaders of Alt-Info, for organizing violent attacks on peaceful demonstrators. All four individuals were added to the Magnitsky List. Additionally, the State Department imposed visa restrictions on more than 60 Georgian citizens and their family members who were complicit in undermining democracy in Georgia. Although the names of those sanctioned have not been released, they reportedly include high-ranking government and municipal officials, law enforcement officers, business leaders, and individuals spreading disinformation or promoting violent extremism.
Following these decisions, Georgia's Prime Minister met with U.S. Ambassador Robin Dunnigan and he remarked that the U.S. “nearing a critical limit." He also warned that "another similar decision could trigger a qualitative reassessment of Georgia's position toward Georgian-American relations."
