The Georgian Dream party did not respond to a request for comment, including clarification on which information it considered false.
OCCRP and media partners reported on August 9 that the wife of Georgian Dream founder Bidzina Ivanishvili holds property in Russia worth at least $14.7 million, including a plot of land that was transferred to her earlier this year.
Ivanishvili, a billionaire who made his fortune in Russia in the 1990s, said in 2011 that he would revoke his Russian passport and sell his businesses in that country when he created the Georgian Dream party that year.
In a statement posted to Facebook, responding to OCCRP’s investigation, Georgian Dream spokesperson George Grdzelishvili said: “After 1998, the founder of Georgian Dream did not buy any property in Russia,” adding that “the article is based on false information.”
However, OCCRP did not report that Ivanishvili had purchased real estate himself. Instead, the investigation delved into the holdings of his wife, Ekaterine Khvedelidze.
The revelations caused a stir in Georgia, which is in the midst of upheaval after the ruling party passed a law that mandates non-governmental organizations and independent media outlets receiving funds from abroad to register as agents of foreign influence.
Critics say the legislation is similar to Russian legislation that has been used to crack down on dissent and consolidate political power. Decrying it as a “Russian Law,” thousands of Georgians protested for weeks in the capital, Tbilisi.
OCCRP’s investigation into Khvedelidze’s Russian property holdings was done in partnership with Georgian media –– GMC, Studio Monitori, and iFact –– as well as iStories, a Russian outlet operating in exile.
With elections coming up in October –– and a vigorous public debate around the role of media that receive foreign support –– the ruling party is trying to discredit the investigation, according to Mamuka Andguladze, chairman of the press freedom group Media Advocacy Coalition.
“The main duty of investigative journalism is to investigate important topics, inform the public about it, and follow it with discussion and appropriate decisions,” he said. “Instead of having a healthy discussion, a direct attack is being made on the media.”
While the investigation revealed information about Khvedelidze’s properties, it also mentioned a 2022 Transparency International report showing Ivanishvili owned a Russian company through an offshore structure. The firm’s current ownership is unknown, although financial records suggest it is still held by Ivanishvili or his family.
Although it was not a main finding of the investigation, Tbilisi mayor and Georgian Dream member Kakha Kaladze appeared to seize on that aspect, deflecting attention away from the revelations about Khvedelidze’s holdings. In a statement sent to the media outlets on August 10, he shifted the focus to Ivanishvili.
“Everyone knows very well that Bidzina Ivanishvili had declared everything,” Kaladze said, adding that it was “sad when this type of manipulation takes place.”
Andguladze said the investigation had raised important questions that should be debated openly, but added that an honest discussion is not in Georgian Dream’s interests.
“Instead of answering these questions, they try to attack the media so that the public does not believe this information and does not start talking about it,” said Andguladze.
