
Bidzina Ivanishvili [founder/Honorary Chairman of Georgian Dream] intends to initiate legal proceedings against Julius Baer [JB]. Lasha Kalandadze, the lawyer of Bidzina Ivanishvili, releases the relevant statement.
"As it is well known, Bidzina Ivanishvili has been in a dispute with Credit Suisse and its affiliates in various jurisdictions for nearly 10 years.
The ongoing dispute in Singapore against Credit Suisse has been successfully ended, while the case in Bermuda, which has been successfully concluded in both the 1st and 2nd-instance courts, will be heard in the final instance in summer.
Civil cases are also being initiated in Switzerland, focusing on the compensation of funds that were not covered by the Singapore and Bermuda disputes. The public will be informed in stages about the progress and outcome of these cases. I want to remind stakeholders that a large part of the assets that survived Credit Suisse`s illegal actions were transferred to another Swiss bank [Julius Baer], including the accounts where funds from hedge funds were supposed to be placed.
The Julius Baer cooperated constructively for years, but over the last year, the relationship has changed radically. For almost 6 months, JB restricted information about accounts [fund movements] designated for funds received from hedge funds.
There are numerous correspondence records confirming this. Bidzina Ivanishvili explained to the bank that he had the right to receive information about funds received from hedge funds and demanded an explanation from the bank about the legal basis for restricting his guaranteed right, however, the bank delayed its response. Only after JB became convinced that Ivanishvili would pursue legal mechanisms to protect his rights did JB begin fulfilling their obligation to provide information.
Recently, the relationship has further deteriorated. In Ivanishvili’s view, the hedge funds [CarVal Credit Value Fund III, Promona Capital VIII and TPG Opportunities Partners III] have violated the deadlines for returning funds. According to the contract, JB is obliged to take measures to ensure that the hedge funds fulfill their obligations on time. JB only reports that it sends letters to hedge funds, but does not provide any explanation of the content of the letters, nor of the actions it is taking or will take to ensure that the hedge funds fulfill their obligations.
Since Bidzina Ivanishvili cannot receive legally guaranteed information or explanations, he believes that Julius Baer and the aforementioned hedge funds are acting in a coordinated manner against / to the detriment of his interests. The relationship deteriorated in other ways as well. Initially, the bank refused to execute a transfer request from Ivanishvili and several of his family members. After JB was informed that the beneficiaries were resorting to legal mechanisms to protect their rights, the bank executed the transfer request, though it took almost a month to fulfill an obligation that would typically be completed in one day.
Then in mid-December 2024, JB effectively threatened to close Ivanishvili`s personal bank account, citing his status as a politically active person. The rationale for closing/cancelling the account on these grounds was not substantiated by JB. The bank didn’t even explain why this issue of cancelling a personal account on the grounds of being a politically active person came up on the agenda, particularly at the end of 2024. JB has not closed the personal account, however, informing public about this action was deemed appropriate.
Finally, JB, according to the beneficiaries, misinterpreted the so-called American sanctions and informed Ivanishvili`s family members and his companies that their bank accounts were subject to these sanctions. The above-mentioned issues create a prerequisite for Bidzina Ivanishvili to assume and think that political blackmail is taking place on the part of JB and that JB is also involved in political blackmail in one way or another.
As for the legal side, Ivanishvili intends to initiate legal proceedings against JB, including with the involvement of foreign lawyers, demanding the bank fulfill its obligations and compensate for damages", - reads the statement of Lasha Kalandadze.