Bidzin Ivanishvili under sanctions. For actions “for the benefit of the Russian Federation”

As written in the statement of the Secretary of State USA Antony Blinken, the reason for including the oligarch on the sanctions list was “undermining the democratic and Euro-Atlantic future of Georgia in favor of the Russian Federation.”

“The actions of Ivanishvili and (the) Georgian Dream party have undermined democratic institutions, enabled human rights violations, and limited the exercise of fundamental freedoms in Georgia. Moreover, they have derailed Georgia's Euro-Atlantic future, a future that the Georgian people so desperately desire and that the Georgian Constitution mandates,” Blinken wrote. As he added, as a result of these actions Georgia became susceptible to influence Russiawhich occupies 20 percent her territory.

The sanctions against Ivanishvili are the latest and perhaps the most serious move in a series of actions by Washington in response to the actions of the Georgian authorities pushing the country away from integration with the West, including the suspension of EU accession talks. Earlier, the Department of State announced a comprehensive review of relations with Georgia, the suspension of the strategic partnership between the countries, and announced a number of sanctions and entry bans for Georgian officials, including the head of Ministry of Internal Affairs.

Ivanishvili is a former businessman and billionaire who made his fortune in Russia. He ruled Georgia as prime minister in 2012-2013, but after stepping down from that position he was still seen as the country's leader. Currently, he is the honorary president of Georgian Dream.

Despite the introduction of restrictions, the US Ministry of Finance issued a license allowing the authorization of transactions by companies associated with Ivanishvili, with a list of exceptions to this rule, including: with the participation of assets of the Russian central bank.