CSOs: Anti-Corruption Bureau Weaponized to Suffocate Civil Society, Blind to Rampant Graft
More than 50 civil society organizations said Georgia’s Anti-Corruption Bureau, which they believe is under the influence of the ruling Georgian Dream party, is being “repurposed not to hold those in power accountable, but to target independent civil society organizations in Georgia.”
Citing the latest monitoring by Transparency International – Georgia, which detailed alleged corruption schemes benefiting companies linked to Georgian Dream officials and party founder Bidzina Ivanishvili, 53 organizations said in a November 10 statement that these alleged corruption cases are absent from the Bureau’s reports “despite its legal mandate to monitor officials’ asset declarations and respond to suspicious transactions.”
The organizations described the Bureau’s reports as “formal” and failing to document “any instances of elite corruption, conflicts of interest, or specific property transaction evaluations,” saying this shows the Bureau “is not fulfilling its preventive or oversight functions but is instead serving political purposes of retaliation.”
Meanwhile, they noted that the Bureau “is being used as a tool to persecute independent civil society organizations,” recalling instances in which it demanded they hand over extensive information about their activities. The groups noted that in its latest inspection, which began in September, the Bureau, headed by GD loyal Razhden Kuprashvili, targeted “over 80 NGOs” under controversial amendments to the country’s Law on Grants, which prohibit receiving foreign funding without government approval.
“These actions reflect a growing trend in which the captured state apparatus seeks to restrict civil sector activities while corrupt government representatives remain untouchable,” the groups said.
They added, “When accountability is only applied to civil society, not to the powerful and corrupt, it becomes repression masked as oversight, stifling civic freedoms and limiting civil society’s ability to monitor, speak out, and hold power accountable – a direct threat to Georgia’s democratic future.”
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