Funds Supporting Protesters Frozen

Nanuka’s Fund, managed by journalist Nanuka Zhorzholiani, Prosperity Georgia, run by former Prime Minister and currently a businessman Nika Gilauri, and Human Rights House Tbilisi have been frozen. The three public funds have been providing financial assistance to people fined during the ongoing anti-regime protests or dismissed from their jobs due to their civic activism.

Nanuka Zhorzholiani was the first to report that her managed fund had been frozen. The other two have confirmed that their accounts have been frozen as well. While details are pending, Zhorzholiani reported that the bank told her that the Tbilisi City Court had issued an urgent injunction to freeze the fund’s account.

The funds have supported the ongoing protests against the Georgian Dream regime. Their financial support has primarily included paying hefty fines for citizens, as scores of protesters have been fined GEL 5,000 (about USD 1800) for blocking roads or other alleged misdemeanors.

The Prosecutor’s Office issued a statement confirming the freezing of the accounts of the above three funds and two others: For Each Other [Ermanetistvis] and Shame Movement [Sirtskhivilia]. The Prosecutor claimed that these five entities “financed illegal activities” during the protests since November 28, 2024, and ” encouraged civil unrest” and “other unlawful activities.”

“The organizational and financial activities of concrete funds are aimed at providing material support to lawbreakers and their family members,” the statement claims. “The so-called “funds” have used the collected financial resources to encourage individuals who have committed unlawful and criminal activities, as well as to acquire the necessary inventory and means for committing these crimes,” the statement added.

According to the Prosecutor’s Office statement, the funds have spent more than 2,000,000 GEL [around 721,000 USD] “to finance illegal activities.”

The Prosecutor’s Office opened an investigation into several criminal offenses, including sabotage (Article 318), assisting a foreign country, foreign organization, or foreign-controlled organization in hostile activities (Article 319), and financing activities directed against the constitutional order and national security principles of Georgia (Article 321 Prima).

The complaint to the Prosecutor’s Office was filed by United Neutral Georgia, an anti-Western and pro-government public movement. Its leader, Vato Shakarishvili, told RFE/RL’s Georgian Service that they had observed “the trace of agents” in the funds’ activities.

NOTE: This news article was updated at 5:40 p.m. on March 17 to include the Prosecutor’s statement.

Also Read:

• 10/02/2025 – Prosecutor Opens Investigation into Alleged Sabotage, “Assistance to Foreign-Controlled Organizations” Against Georgia
• 23/01/2025 – CSOs Condemn Repressive Use of Fines Against Protesters in Georgia

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