Ivanishvili's lawyers accuse European media of censorship and bias

Ivanishvili’s conflict with a Swiss bank

The law firm that defends Bidzina Ivanishvili in his conflict with a Swiss bank continues to criticize European media and says censorship of their material has become a trend. Lawyers are “disappointed” that the European press once again refused to publish an article for PR man Ivanishvili.

“We remind you that when it comes to criticism of the bank, it is published with pleasure by the leading international media, including the Financial Times, Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, Reuters and other publications of similar caliber. The situation changes dramatically when there is a logical and objective analysis based on facts and evidence, followed by legitimate questions based on common sense,” the lawyers said in a statement.

According to them, Ivanishvili’s criticism consisted of exposing the bank’s management by which “he was subjected to blocking and censorship.” The article was made available to the Georgian audience only after it became impossible to publish it in the European press in its original form, which shows that “the Georgian media space is free.”

The lawyers claim that when a bank is criticized, all doors are open for Bidzina Ivanishvili — articles are published by both Swiss and European and leading international media. But as soon as “it’s not the bank that comes into focus, but specifically its management, which deliberately harms the interests of the bank and exposes its client to political blackmail”, then the media fall silent.

“Mr Ivanishvili already had a similar experience in the Swiss media, when Swiss press, radio and television refused to publish information critical of the leadership in July 2022. At the time, Mr. Ivanishvili also spoke loudly about this. Now the same thing has happened in the British-European media.”

According to lawyers, their client was unable to inform international readers about how the bank’s management acted in 2008-2015, when “unimaginable crimes” occurred on its accounts, about which the bank’s management received hints from the internal audit system more than a hundred times, encouraged by bonuses and allowances not to intervene.

The law firm argues that it is necessary to answer the main question of on whose orders and instructions the bank’s management is acting.

“Who forced the leadership to commit the numerous violations of the law described above? Who ordered the bank’s management to blackmail Mr. Ivanishvili? What kind of government is this, which, even on the example of this small episode, showed us that it forbids the bank’s management to pay money to Mr. Ivanishvili? What kind of government is this, which twice adopted a resolution in the European Parliament demanding sanctions against Mr. Ivanishvili and both times did not allow it to be fully implemented, which shows that the goal was blackmail and not real sanctions? Who is the power blocking access to European media when it comes to running a bank?” the lawyers ask.

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Ivanishvili has had several legal disputes with the Swiss bank and has accused Credit Suisse of delaying transfers and of political pressure. Representatives of Georgian Dream say that by creating problems in the Swiss bank, the West and in particular the United States is trying to put pressure on Ivanishvili to drag Georgia into a war against Russia.

On January 26, 2023, representatives of Bidzina Ivanishvili published a letter in the international press stating that Ivanishvili was under political pressure in his legal dispute with Credit Suisse.

In a resolution adopted on December 14, the European Parliament called on the European Council and democratic partners to impose sanctions against Ivanishvili as the person responsible for the deterioration of democratic processes in Georgia.