Helsinki Commission: "Georgia's ruling party is using black money"
Georgian Dream and fraudulent call centers
The Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe (Helsinki Commission) released a statement on the social media platform X, accusing the ruling party “Georgian Dream” of using black money from fraudulent call centers to fund its activities and persecute the opposition.
According to the Commission, the U.S. State Department should take a stand against these call centers, which “sponsor Georgian Dream’s antidemocratic campaign against the Georgian people.”
🇬🇪 Georgian Dream relies on dark money from a network of scam call centers around the world to fund its operations & harass its opposition.@StateDept should crack down on these call centers that sponsor Georgian Dream's antidemocratic campaign against the Georgian people.
— U.S. Helsinki Commission (@HelsinkiComm) August 12, 2024
The so-called “call centers” were discovered in Georgia and other countries around the world. Scammers would contact people in Europe and the U.S., posing as financial advisors, deceive them into handing over money, and then disappear.
The BBC, a British media outlet, published an investigation into these call centers, alleging that former Georgian defense minister David Kezerashvili is connected to them.
Politicians from both the opposition and the ruling party in Georgia accuse each other of being linked to these call centers. However, “Georgian Dream” did not support the proposal to establish a commission to investigate their activities.
Beka Odisharia, a member of Parliament from “Georgian Dream,” called the Helsinki Commission’s statement “outright lies”:
“I don’t know what the goals and objectives of the Helsinki group are when they spread such outright lies,” Odisharia said.
He added that Georgia is simply being “accused of anything to replace the peacekeeping government” and bring to power a “crowd of boys and girls who will follow any orders from outside.”
In response, the opposition group “Strong Georgia” issued a statement saying that the Helsinki Commission only confirmed the internationally recognized fact that the founder of “Georgian Dream,” Bidzina Ivanishvili, “is attempting to dismantle the democratic process in Georgia through criminal means—using funds obtained through illegal call centers.”
- US Congress members call for financial sanctions against Ivanishvili
- Ex-defense minister may be behind global scam network – BBC investigation
The connection between “Georgian Dream” and the call centers was also discussed in a letter from U.S. congressmen who are members of the Helsinki Commission, dated July 31, 2024. The congressmen addressed U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, demanding sanctions against Bidzina Ivanishvili and his associates.
The U.S. Helsinki Commission promotes human rights, military security, and economic cooperation in 57 countries.
