Shalva Papuashvili: The statement by Bidzina Ivanishvili’s lawyers used the correct term: “bandit-style racketeering,” and this is exactly what we are dealing with — the goal is pressure on Ivanishvili to use his political influence against the interests of the country
Yesterday, the statement issued by Bidzina Ivanishvili’s lawyers used the correct term — “bandit-style racketeering.” What we are observing over the years, including the developments surrounding this process, is exactly bandit-style racketeering, Speaker of Parliament Shalva Papuashvili told journalists while assessing the statement of Ivanishvili’s lawyer, Temo Tsikvadze.
According to him, this is ordinary bandit racketeering, the goal of which is to put pressure on Bidzina Ivanishvili so that he uses his political influence against the interests of Georgia.
“In my view, the statement by Bidzina Ivanishvili’s lawyers yesterday used the correct term — ‘bandit-style racketeering.’ What we are observing over these many years, including the events surrounding this process, is exactly bandit racketeering. The fact is that various institutions in different countries are so influenced that they can directly hand-control certain issues — who will have access to their own bank accounts, what money should be taken from someone’s account and appropriated in a robber-like manner, and so on. It is absolutely clear that this is ordinary bandit 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. We have been observing these attempts for a long time. Including when he was distanced from politics — you remember how persistently the then U.S. Ambassador tried to meet Bidzina Ivanishvili, despite the fact that he was not in politics, and ultimately this also indicates what forces are involved in this process to exert influence,” Papuashvili said.
For reference, yesterday the lawyer of Bidzina Ivanishvili, the Honorary Chairman of “Georgian Dream,” Temo Tsikvadze, released a statement regarding the matter connected to the court hearing scheduled on November 24 in London. Specifically, according to him, on that day the third and final instance ruling will be announced in the lawsuit initiated in Bermuda, which has been ongoing for several years, and according to the lawyer, all previous stages of the dispute ended in favor of Ivanishvili.
