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The United States is preparing sanctions against former Georgian Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili as concerns mount over his role in deepening ties with Russia and steering the country away from its democratic path, according to two U.S. government sources who spoke to VOA on the condition of anonymity.
U.S. officials say Ivanishvili's alleged actions benefit Russian interests and undermine Georgia's aspirations to join the European Union and NATO.
"We have information that Ivanishvili undertook actions to develop relations with Russian oligarchs, took actions to enable Russia to gain better access to the Georgian market. In fact, he, took some actions at the direction of the Russian intelligence services," a senior U.S. official told VOA's Georgian service on the condition of anonymity, given the sensitivity of discussing the sanctions.
Ivanishvili, 68, a billionaire who amassed his fortune in Russia during the 1990s, remains a deeply influential figure in Georgia despite having abandoned formal politics in 2013. He resides in a palace overlooking Georgia's capital Tbilisi and rarely appears in public. His extravagant lifestyle, including a shark tank in his palace, a zoo in his hometown and a love for trees, has earned him the nickname "James Bond of Georgia" and captured the attention of international media.
The political party that Ivanishvili founded, Georgian Dream, has held power in the country since 2012, and some observers say he continues to make key political decisions from behind the scenes.
According to Giorgi Gakharia, a former Georgian Dream member who served as Georgia's prime minister from September 2019 until February 2021, when he resigned and went into opposition, Ivanishvili is still involved in all major political and economic decisions.
"Ivanishvili is managing all kind of issues on strategic as well as tactical levels," Gakharia, who now leads the For Georgia party, told VOA. "He's involved directly in [economic and] political issues. Everything going on in the country [at] this,moment is around and about Ivanishvili."
Another opposition politician, Giga Bokeria of the Federalist Party, says Ivanishvili has been at the center of the Georgian government's move the country in a pro-Russian, anti-Western direction.
"He the one who steered from the very beginning this campaign of demonizing the West as a threat to Georgia's security and identity, that the West and in particular the U.S. uses Georgians as pawns in their interests, and that, in order to survive, we must accept Russian security dominance in our region," Bokeria told VOA. "And, under that pretext, he has facilitated Russian infiltration into the Georgian economy, security structures and political life and targeted pro-Western institutions and his political opponents."
Bokeria added that while the looming sanctions against Ivanishvili are a justified and necessary step, a more strategic U.S. approach, one that strengthens Georgia as a key Western stronghold in the region, is needed.
"While it's ultimately the responsibility of Georgian society to defeat this regime, the problem with U.S. policy towards Georgia is that it remains reactionary, lacking a clear, proactive strategy. The U.S. should target all Russian allies and enemies of liberty more comprehensively, while combining this approach with a broader vision to make Georgia a stronghold for projecting Western power in the region."
The U.S. sanctions targeting Ivanishvili fall under Executive Order 14024, on "Blocking Property With Respect To Specified Harmful Foreign Activities of the Government of the Russian Federation," signed by President Joe Biden in 2021.
"Executive Order 14024 has broad authorities to designate individuals who engage in, behaviors that undermine democratic institutions, democratic values, engage in transnational corruption," the senior U.S. official, speaking on background, told VOA. "There is a whole range of activities that, if they are found to be benefiting the Russian Federation, those are sanctioned."
When and if sanctions are imposed on Ivanishvili, his assets within U.S. jurisdiction will be frozen, and American citizens and companies will be prohibited from doing business with him. The sanctions would also cut Ivanishvili off from the global financial system, given that many international institutions follow U.S. regulations in order to avoid secondary sanctions. In addition to asset freezes, visa restrictions could be implemented, limiting Ivanishvili's access to global banking services and ability to travel outside of Georgia.
"When the United States spoke of potential sanctions, Ivanishvili always believed that they were bluffing," Tina Bokuchava, leader of the opposition United National Movement party, told VOA. "Now he understands that undermining Georgian democracy, and depriving Georgia [of] Euro-Atlantic prospects, implies real consequences from the United States."
The sanctions targeting Ivanishvili follow visa restrictions and asset freezes that the U.S. imposed in recent months on individuals in Georgia accused of undermining democratic processes there.
"I think the Biden administration has been frustrated by its inability to get the Georgian government to take seriously the position they've put themselves in," a source familiar with the discussions within the U.S. government told VOA on condition of anonymity. "The Biden people are trying to convey the seriousness and hope that somebody in the Georgian government is listening in a serious way."
The prime minister's office declined VOA's request to comment about the report that the U.S. has sanctions package ready for Ivanisvhili.
The U.S. and EU have grown increasingly alarmed by Georgia's undemocratic steps, its reluctance to adopt a clear pro-Western stance over Russia's war in Ukraine, and inflammatory rhetoric from Tbilisi accusing Washington of trying to drag Georgia into the conflict. Georgia has officially refused joining international sanctions against Russia for its actions in Ukraine and faced criticism for publicly attacking Ukrainian leaders. Washington has also raised concerns that Georgia may be helping Russia evade sanctions.
Another major point of contention is the controversial "law on transparency of foreign influence," which requires Georgian NGOs and media outlets receiving more than 20% of their funding from abroad to register as foreign agents. While the ruling Georgian Dream party defends the law as upholding transparency, critics charge it is modeled on Russian legislation and aimed at suppressing independent media and Western-funded organizations.
Mass protests erupted in Tbilisi earlier this year when the government reintroduced the law, after initially withdrawing it in 2023 following a public outcry. Despite the protests, the Georgian Dream party pushed the law through, overriding a veto by President Salome Zourabischvili, who has emerged as a vocal critic of the government.
Critics say the law is part of a broader effort by Ivanishvili and his allies to consolidate power ahead of Georgia's parliamentary elections, scheduled for October.
"The law was adopted because it allows the Ivanishvili to use an instrument well-tested in Russia and other authoritarian regimes for the purpose of demonizing and destroying free media and NGOs - the biggest threats for him [Ivanishvili] maintaining power," Sergi Kapanadze, director of Georgia's Reforms Associates, a Tbilisi-based think-tank, told VOA.
The package of sanctions targeting Ivanishvili follows the U.S. Treasury Department's recent sanctions on four individuals in Georgia under the Global Magnitsky Act, which authorizes the U.S. government to sanction foreign government officials who violate human rights. The four sanctioned Georgians included two high-ranking officials from the Georgian Interior Ministry and two private citizens involved in suppressing peaceful demonstrations and restricting the freedom of assembly.
The U.S. has also placed visa bans on 90 individuals in Georgia accused of undermining democracy in the country.
While the exact timing of the sanctions against Bidzina Ivanishvili remains uncertain, a source close to the Biden administration told VOA on condition of anonymity that, in preparing those sanctions, "the administration internally has had to meet a legal threshold of documenting" that his activities have "clear benefits to Russia."