Georgian Parliament Speaker says goal of “criminal racketeering” is to pressure Bidzina Ivanishvili to use his political influence against country’s interests

Georgian Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili on Friday commented on the statement of Temo Tsikvadze, the lawyer of Bidzina Ivanishvili, regarding the Credit Suisse case, by saying that the goal of criminal racketeering was to pressure Ivanishvili to use his political influence against the interests of the country.

Tsikvadze on Thursday said that “the criminal racketeering carried out against Bidzina Ivanishvili is unprecedented and a classic example of using financial leverage for political persecution”.

“The most accurate term was used in the statement of Bidzina Ivanishvili's lawyer - criminal racketeering. We are dealing with exactly the criminal racketeering, which we have been observing for so many years, including in connection with the events surrounding this process. Various institutions in different countries are so subject to influence that they can directly control this or that issue - who has access to their own account, how much money to withdraw from whose account and appropriate it in a robber way”, the Speaker said.

“It is clear that this is an ordinary criminal racketeering, the goal of which is to put pressure on Bidzina Ivanishvili so that he uses his political influence against the interests of our country, and we have been observing these attempts for a long time, including when he was distanced from politics. You remember how the then United States Ambassador persistently tried to meet with Bidzina Ivanishvili, who was not in politics, and ultimately, this also indicates what forces are involved in influencing this process”, he concluded.

In a few days, the British court will issue a final decision on the dispute of Credit Suisse, which has been going on for years and the plaintiff has won all previous proceedings.

Tsikvadze also spoke in detail about the events that have developed since 2008. He emphasised that the political persecution of Ivanishvili by foreign intelligence services, the so-called deep state, began in 2008 and this was when the previous Government, the United National Movement, rigged the elections and usurped power, prompting Ivanishvili to fully distance himself from this political force.