UNM: 'Dream' Has Turned Georgia into a Crypto-Laundromat for Russian and Iranian Money

The opposition party United National Movement (UNM) commented on the US Treasury Department’s decision to sanction a Georgia-founded crypto company suspected of ties to Iran. According to party member Lasha Parulava, this was a direct result of Georgian Dream’s actions:

“The Ivanishvili regime has turned Georgia into a crypto-laundromat for Russian and Iranian blood money. Today, we have reached a point where an Iranian company linked to Ivanishvili and registered in the Gldani Free Economic Zone has been sanctioned by the United States for activities tied to supporting terrorism. This is a matter of Georgia’s honor and reputation, which have never sunk so low. The crypto sector has been regulated by the National Bank since 2023. Therefore, responsibility for all of this lies with Bidzina Ivanishvili and Natia Turnava, whom he brought to the National Bank.

On the one hand, crypto mining by Ivanishvili and Bachiashvili in Gldani brought them billions of dollars in revenue, while the public pays the price through higher electricity tariffs and a country that has already suffered blackouts three times. Now, the very same free economic zone where such businesses were registered is implicated in financial activities linked to supporting terrorism. This is the real price of the Ivanishvili regime: they grow rich while Georgia loses its reputation.