Vano Tsereteli, a member of the Coalition for Change, commented on a letter from Bidzina Ivanishvili’s lawyer, Temo Tsikvadze, during Palitranews’ program Day’s Newsroom, saying that sanctions will make Ivanishvili angrier, and that this anger will ultimately affect his closest associates, the so-called “in-house millionaires.”

“Due to the sanctions, Ivanishvili will become even angrier, and this anger will spread to his own in-house millionaires, whom he has ‘made millionaires.’ He will seek to compensate himself at their expense. Therefore, fear those who slavishly serve Bidzina Ivanishvili and think that the money they earn in Georgia through dishonest means, like him, will remain safe.”

Tsereteli said that Ivanishvili’s anger leads not only to negative outcomes for the general public but also affects himself and his team.

“For Ivanishvili, the most important thing — not just in Georgia but in life in general — is money. He is now very angry, and this anger inevitably reaches us. Not only the people on the streets but also his so-called millionaires feel it. This anger apparently leads to negative consequences for Ivanishvili himself and the team he leads. Generally, you cannot place money obtained through dishonest means wherever you want. You cannot speak in a threatening tone to free societies like the US, Switzerland, or the EU. This is not correct.”

He also criticized the use of threats toward the Georgian people, past, present, and future, to reclaim illegally obtained funds.

“Ivanishvili himself has stated live on air that money is his top priority, and he will use everything, including Georgia’s realities, to retrieve it. When a person who controls seized power in a country — or at least claims to — focuses solely on their own money and family welfare, of course, this anger will affect his in-house millionaires. Many people have already been caught whom he ‘made millionaires.’ Now, unable to access the money in Swiss banks, he will compensate himself at the expense of his in-house millionaires. First and foremost, fear those who slavishly serve Ivanishvili and think that, like him, they can earn Georgia’s people’s money dishonestly and keep it.”

Tsereteli also noted that Ivanishvili’s lawyer acknowledged that US sanctions apply to him.

“If Ivanishvili does not come to his senses, does not relinquish the power he has seized, and does not stop destroying democracy in Georgia, these sanctions will intensify. The subtext here is clear — Ivanishvili is afraid. He does not want to show people that US sanctions affect him and are working. His main narrative is that he will fix relations with the Trump administration and that everything that happened is Biden’s fault. This is both a lie and foolish — the US system does not work that way. Over the time Trump was in power, Ivanishvili could not take any step to gain legitimacy. Therefore, this lawyer’s statement clearly shows that Ivanishvili fears the sanctions from the US and fears speaking openly about it. He has no choice but to issue statements reassuring his entourage that even if sanctions are imposed, nothing will happen. This is the threat felt not only by Ivanishvili but also by his entire Georgian Dream elite, involved in this mafia-like, clan-based money-making scheme. If Ivanishvili does not come to his senses, does not relinquish power, and continues to destroy democracy in Georgia, these sanctions will deepen and intensify — not just for his family but for those around him.”