Saakashvili’s Georgian bank accounts also seized, lawyer claims

Ex-President Mikheil Saakashvili. (Interpressnews.)

TBILISI, DFWatch–The Prosecutor’s Office in Georgia has seized the bank accounts of former President Mikheil Saakashvili, his attorney wrote in a Facebook update on Sunday.

This comes only days after the a ruling in the Appeals Court which confirmed the seizure of the former leader’s property and that of his relatives.

“With the blessing of Batoni Bidzina (Ivanishvili), Misha Saakashvili’s bank accounts have been seized,” attorney Oto Kakhidze wrote on his Facebook page on Saturday night, referring to the former PM, Bidzina Ivanishvili, who opponents claim is controlling the Georgian Dream government from behind the scenes, a claim rejected by the government.

It was not possible to verify the attorney’s claim, because the Prosecutor’s Office on Sunday declined to comment.

The Prosecutor’s Office did not bother to find out which banks Saakashvili has accounts in but instead ordered the seizure of his accounts in all banks, Kakhidze claims.

“Thanks to that man, who established rule of law,” Oto Kakhidze wrote, another reference to Ivanishvili.

Yesterday, journalists tried in vain to get the attorney’s information confirmed by the Prosecutor’s Office.

The list of seized property is published on the Prosecutor’s Office website, its spokesperson Natia Sukhiashvili told the news agency IPN, declining to provide details.

However, in the list published on the website, no bank accounts are mentioned, only land plots, flats, houses and cars belonging to Saakashvili, his spouse, both parents and grandmother.