Ruling party officials slam opposition leader Gvaramia over criticism of Ivanishvili’s philanthropy

Georgian Dream officials have criticised opposition politician Nika Gvaramia after he accused Georgia’s former government of allowing billionaire founder of the ruling party Bidzina Ivanishvili to evade taxes and use philanthropy as a long-term election campaign.

Dimitri Samkharadze, Georgian Dream’s regional secretary, described Gvaramia’s remarks as “shameless” and said Ivanishvili had spent his wealth on charitable projects in Georgia.

In a social media post, Samkharadze claimed that Ivanishvili had helped pay salaries for the military, police officers, teachers and cultural workers when the state budget was depleted. He also said Ivanishvili had financed the renovation of 400 schools using his personal funds, arguing that pupils had been studying in dangerous conditions.

Samkharadze accused Gvaramia of trying to rewrite history, saying the public knew that Ivanishvili had spent his wealth on philanthropy in Georgia.

Deputy Parliament Speaker Giorgi Kakhiani also criticised Gvaramia, arguing that the opposition politician had distanced himself from Ivanishvili’s charitable activities rather than from “systematic human rights violations under the former United National Movement government.

Kakhiani claimed that Ivanishvili had spent 80% of his wealth - more than 3.5 billion - on Georgia and had helped fund public sector salaries when state finances were under pressure.

The criticism followed Gvaramia’s remarks at the Constitutional Court, where he said he disagreed with the former government’s treatment of Ivanishvili. Gvaramia accused the previous administration of allowing him to accumulate hundreds of millions without paying taxes and of enabling philanthropy that he described as a long-term election campaign.