What do U.S. sanctions against Georgian Dream leader Bidzina Ivanishvili mean?
What sanctions has the U.S. imposed on Ivanishvili?
Georgian telegram channel დაიბრუნე ხმა! (Return my voice) has published a detailed explanation of the implications of U.S. Treasury sanctions announced on December 27 against Bidzina Ivanishvili, the honorary chairman of Georgian Dream, oligarch, and de facto ruler of Georgia.
The United States has introduced financial sanctions against Ivanishvili, whose name appeared on the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) list on December 27 at 8:00 PM Tbilisi time. The sanctions are part of a broader package targeting Russia. Under these measures, all of Ivanishvili’s assets in the United States will be “frozen.”
What do U.S. sanctions entail?
What sanctions were imposed on Bidzina Ivanishvili?
Sanctions target Ivanishvili as an individual “directly or indirectly engaged in actions or policies that undermine democratic processes or institutions in the United States or abroad on behalf of or in favor of the Government of the Russian Federation.”
Who else falls under this category of sanctions?
Ivanishvili has been added to the U.S. Treasury’s Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons (SDN) list, which includes individuals associated with terrorism, drug trafficking, human rights violations, or other threats to U.S. national security.
What restrictions do these sanctions impose?
The sanctions under the SDN list are among the strictest and include the following:
Asset freezes
- All property under U.S. jurisdiction owned by sanctioned individuals is fully frozen.
- Transfers of assets, withdrawals, and other financial transactions are prohibited.
Transaction bans
- U.S. citizens and companies are forbidden from engaging in transactions with sanctioned individuals or providing them with services.
Secondary sanctions risks
- Foreign companies doing business with sanctioned entities may face secondary sanctions, including bans on operations in the U.S.
Financial isolation
- Sanctioned individuals lose access to U.S. financial institutions and the dollar system.
- Foreign banks, including Georgian ones, that process significant transactions for sanctioned individuals risk losing access to U.S. correspondent banking services, effectively isolating them from the global financial system.
Travel restrictions
- Travel to the U.S. is typically prohibited for sanctioned individuals. Allied countries may impose parallel travel bans.
Reputational damage
- Sanctions cause severe reputational harm, making business dealings with sanctioned individuals a significant liability, especially in Europe and jurisdictions aligned with U.S. sanctions.
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