Opposition says West “dubious” about Ivanishvili, ruling party sees “coordinated action” as Swiss bank delays $500 mln transfer

It seems that the West is dubious about Bidzina Ivanishvili. It also  seems that Ivanishvili himself is anti-American, anti-Western and personally his position is that all those who support Ukraine want bad for him, Khatia Dekanoidze, a leader of the United National Movement opposition party said on Tuesday, responding to reports that a Swiss bank delayed 500 million USD transfer to the founder of the Georgina Dream (GD) party Bidzina Ivanishvili. 

Ivanishvili won a several-year dispute with the Swiss bank Credit Suisse back in March 2022 and the latter had to pay $500 million to Ivanishvili after the Bermuda court announced its judgment.

However, it was reported on May 9 that Ivanishvili was suing the Swiss bank for the second time as it delayed operations at the Green Vals Trust, which was set up by Credit Suisse to protect the interests of beneficiaries and provide the necessary funds. 

The beneficiaries claimed in a statement that they had nothing to do with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and could  not be subject to any sanctions, noting that Ivanishvili “holds only Georgian and French citizenship.” 

Dekanoidze suggested that the bank’s move pointed at the West’s “dubious attitude” about Ivanishvili. 

Head of the ruling Georgian Dream party Irakli Kobakhidze said that the delay in the transfer could be connected with a “coordinated action,” but refrained from unveiling details “considering my political post.” 

However, he said that those forces, “who wish to drag Georgia into the war are likely to stand behind the coordination.” 

Ukrainian officials, whom the Georgian authorities have accused of affiliation with the “radical Georgian opposition,” called on the west earlier this month to impose sanctions on Ivanishvili, citing him a  “Russian oligarch who has an influence on the Georgian government.” 

The lawsuit dates back to 2011 when a Credit Suisse private banker Patrice Lescaudron, who later committed suicide, defrauded some of the Swiss bank’s accounts, including those held by Ivanishvili and Russian oligarch Vitaly Malkin. 

 

The bank claimed that it was Lescaudron’s fault alone.