Georgia's Internal Security Service said it was investigating a plot to assassinate billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili, who is the honorary chairman of the ruling party, Reuters reported, BTA reported.
The service said on “Facebook“ that it was investigating criminal actions aimed at “the forcible removal“ of the government and inciting unrest. This includes the murder of Ivanishvili, who is the founder of the “Georgian Dream“ party. The billionaire, who made his fortune in Russia in the 1990s, returned to the public scene this spring, appearing as a staunch supporter of the controversial bill on "foreign agents."
The legal changes require all organizations that receive more than 20% of their funding from abroad to register as "agents of foreign influence." The government's move sparked mass protests in the capital Tbilisi and plunged the South Caucasus country into political chaos.
The Internal Security Service did not name any of the suspects, but the independent Georgian website "OS-Media" said six people had been summoned to the raid. A lawyer and two of the people questioned told OS-Media that most of them had fought against the Russian army in Ukraine.
The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Reuters.
The Georgian Internal Security Service, which did not mention Ukraine in its Facebook post, did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment from the British news agency. Authorities in Tbilisi have repeatedly accused Georgian citizens fighting in Ukraine against Moscow's forces of plotting to overthrow the government. Georgia says it opposes the Russian war but has refused to impose sanctions on Russia.