FARA “excellent opportunity” to track spending, says Georgian FM

Georgian Foreign Minister Maka Botchorishvili on Wednesday emphasised the importance of the Foreign Agents Registration Act, stating that it was providing transparency regarding financial expenditures and external influences.

Botchorishvili’s remarks came in response to the recently published document under the Foreign Agents Registration Act, which disclosed that Nika Gilauri, one of the funders of the Georgian opposition and the PM under the former UNM Government, had hired a lobbying firm in the United States, paying $600,000 for its services.

In her remarks, Botchorishvili noted that FARA served as a valuable mechanism for tracking financial transactions and understanding how funds were utilised in international lobbying efforts.

“FARA is an excellent opportunity to clearly understand who is spending money and how it is used. FARA provides a great chance to see how money is used. As for its purpose, I believe the Georgian public sees very well how the fight against our country is periodically waged, and how various actors are used in this fight”, the FM said.