The Prime Minister of Georgia alleged the ongoing dispute between Bidzina Ivanishvili, Honorary Chair of the Georgian Dream, and Credit Suisse [CS], over funds stolen from the party figure by a former employee of the Swiss bank, was “rooted in political, rather than commercial, motivations”.

“A few months ago, we were assured that the dispute with CS was purely a commercial matter and had nothing to do with politics. However, we held completely different beliefs and assessments. The recent direct mention of the case in the sanctions document confirmed that the dispute with Credit Suisse is not a commercial issue, but rather a significant political matter.

The robbery of [Bidzina] Ivanishvili’s account began in 2008, following his decision to stop communicating with [Mikheil] Saakashvili. This break in communication appears to have led to a long-standing case of account robbery that has persisted for many years. Of course, this is not merely a commercial dispute.

CS has severely damaged its reputation due to this dispute. Since 2008, the value of its shares has fallen nearly 100 times, indicating a lack of commercial interest in the matter. From a business perspective, CS was not genuinely interested in pursuing this dispute. Instead, it appeared to be driven by political influences affecting the management of the company, which ultimately shaped how the case was handled.

The public will come to their own conclusions about the rest of the matter”, - said Irakli Kobakhidze.