Legal Affairs Committee of the Parliament supported the amended version of the bill on de-oligarchization

The Legal Affairs Committee of the Parliament supported the amended version of the draft law on deoligarchization with the majority of votes.

In addition, according to the chairman of the committee, Anri Okhanashvili, the amended draft law will be sent to the Venice Commission for consideration before being presented at the plenary session.

Several changes were reflected in the original version of the draft law.

According to one of the changes, the issue of recognizing a person as an oligarch will be decided by the Anti-Corruption Bureau instead of the Government.

According to the revised draft law, the Anti-Corruption Bureau will start the procedure of recognizing a person as an oligarch on its own initiative, or on the basis of an appeal from a member of the Government, a permanent member of the National Security Council, the National Bank, the State Security Service or the National Communications Commission.

"The Venice Commission recommended that the process of recognizing a person as an oligarch should not be politicized and that this procedure should be devoid of politics as much as possible. We have taken into account and suggest that the authority to recognize a person as an oligarch be transferred from the Georgian Government to the Anti-Corruption Bureau, which was created within the framework of the 12-point plan. Accordingly, this issue will be fully depoliticized," said the chairman of the Legal Affairs Committee, Anri Okhanashvili, at the committee's meeting.

According to another change, individuals recognized as oligarchs by the Anti-Corruption Bureau will no longer be prohibited from financing political parties and demonstrations. The only prohibition that will apply to persons recognized as oligarchs will be their participation in the privatization process.

In addition, according to the amended version of the draft law on de-oligarchization, the decision of the Anti-Corruption Bureau to recognize or not recognize a person as an oligarch will be subject to court control.

The decision to recognize a person as an oligarch will not enter into force until the proceedings are completed.