Georgian Parliament official accuses domestic NGOs of channeling funds toward extremist projects

Seven non-governmental organisations in Georgia have had their bank accounts frozen amid an ongoing investigation. The Prosecutor’s Office is probing allegations of sabotage, attempted sabotage under aggravating circumstances, assisting foreign-controlled organisations in hostile activities, and mobilising funds against the country’s constitutional order and national security.

Commenting on the case, Parliament’s First Vice-Speaker Giorgi Volski said the decision underscores why parts of the NGO sector had strongly opposed the Transparency Law. According to him, the resistance was motivated by the misuse of funds.

“The involvement of non-governmental organisations in the development of extremist processes was obvious, and they never really hid it. Moreover, such a fierce attack against transparency was carried out precisely because their funds were largely being spent not in line with their statutory purposes, but rather to encourage these extremist projects”, Volski said.

The Georgian Prosecutor’s Office on Wednesday announced that, as part of an ongoing investigation, the Tbilisi City Court approved the freezing of bank accounts belonging to several domestic non-governmental organisations.