The United States imposed sanctions on Georgian billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili, who founded Georgian Dream in May 2012.
“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,” said Antony J. Blinken, Secretary of State.
According to Forbes 2024 rankings, Bidzina ranks 600th in the richest list with a fortune of $4.9 billion. In October 2022, Georgian Dream won the election to the Parliament, gaining over 50% seats.
After the announcement of election results, mass protests began in Georgia. Georgian opposition leader Salome Zurabishvili and President claimed that the results were falsified, and called on citizens to protest.
