The ruling Georgian Dream party on Friday dismissed allegations made in a recent journalistic investigation, which claimed that Bidzina Ivanishvili’s family purchased property in Moscow.
The party labeled the information as false, claiming that Ivanishvili, the party’s founder, its honorary chair and former Prime Minister, has not acquired any property in Russia since 1998.
“It is well-known that Bidzina Ivanishvili worked in Russia for many years and accumulated a significant portion of his assets there… However, even if everything in the article were true, none of the claims made by the authors involve any illegal activities – neither the purchase of property nor its ownership,” the GD said.
The statement further clarified that Ivanishvili, who is called a shadow ruler by the domestic opposition, did not conceal his family’s property holdings in Russia, noting that his wife, Ekaterine Khvedelidze, declared ownership of a house and three plots of land in Moscow in 2013.
“The attempt to frame this information as a ‘scandal,’ despite it being public knowledge for 11 years and fully reflected in the declaration, only shows that the article’s author is intent on spreading false information about Bidzina Ivanishvili and his family,” GD added.
The journalistic investigation, conducted by Ai Pakti, OCCRP, iStories (Russia), GMC, Studio Monitor, and Transparency International – Georgia, was published early on Friday. The report alleged that the Ivanishvili family owned property in Moscow, some of which had been acquired in recent years. Journalists sought a response from Georgian Dream regarding the claims, but claimed the party had not responded to their inquiries.
Georgia’s ruling party denies claims of Ivanishvili’s property purchase in Moscow
