Georgia’s ruling party official says new legislation cuts off “dark money” for domestic wealthy NGOs

Levan Machavariani, an MP from the ruling Georgian Dream party and Deputy Chair of the parliamentary faction of the ruling party, on Thursday said external actors were using the so-called wealthy domestic non-governmental organisations as their tools to incite polarisation in the country and implement revolutionary scenarios.

Machavariani’s remarks came in response to the freezing of seven non-governmental organisations’ bank accounts amid the 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.

“The state ensures the protection of every citizen. Collective wealthy NGOs thrive on black money, much of which has now been blocked by the laws we have passed. They flaunt their statutes and interfere in anything they choose from start to finish. These organizations are funded by dark money, a large portion of which has already been restricted under our legislation - the Transparency Law, a version copied from FARA, the Grants Law, and others. As a result, they are now in a deadlock and cannot fulfill the tasks for which they received compensation from their superiors”, Machavariani 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.