Georgian oligarch Ivanishvili struggles to transport luxury goods from Western countries
Property of the Georgian oligarch Ivanishvili
Georgian oligarch and founder of the ruling Georgian Dream party, Bidzina Ivanishvili, who recently had trouble getting funds from Credit Suisse, is facing new problems with his assets abroad.
According to Ivanishvili’s lawyer Victor Kipiani, the recent dispute with Credit Suisse “coincided with a number of other incidents” that have nothing to do with either this dispute or Credit Suisse.
“From March to mid-April of this year, Mr. Ivanishvili had some delays in the timely and unhindered movement of artworks from London and New York. The resulting delays, which were relatively easy to overcome in New York and more difficult to overcome in London, were eventually resolved through legal and other channels.
This coincides in time with the complication of the delivery to Georgia of a new helicopter bought by Mr. Ivanishvili in exchange for the delivery of an old one to Germany. It was supposed to be in Tbilisi in early March but was actually brought to the country in mid-April, but this artificially created problem was resolved by Mr. Ivanishvili in a legal way”, Kipiani said in a statement.
The lawyer notes that, as in the case of works of art and a helicopter, the dispute with the company will continue in the legal regime, and if the issue requires additional assessment, Ivanishvili will do it himself through specially scheduled press conferences for foreign journalists.
Also, according to Kipiani, Ivanishvili’s position is that all disagreements with Credit Suisse should also be resolved by legal means, and progress in this regard is already noticeable.
Georgia’s richest man, Bidzina Ivanishvili, who has recently won a lawsuit against the Swiss Credit Suisse bank, accused the bank of delaying funds due to him “for political reasons”.
In this regard, supporters of the ruling party made statements in support of Ivanishvili. Behind the Swiss bank, some of them saw the interests of the United States and the desire to “draw Georgia into the war” by opening a second front against Russia in Georgia.
Georgian Dream Chairman Irakli Kobakhidze said that “we see some behind-the-scenes coordination, and this coordination raises questions”.
The opposition claims that the scandal around the Swiss bank and the statements of the leadership of the Georgian Dream once again confirmed the anti-American sentiments of the ruling party.
