Billionaire Ivanishvili Turns Against Former Proteges In Georgia

January 17, 2026 
By Eurasianet



(Eurasianet) — The winter has turned particularly chilly for Georgia’s political elite. And for some who have long enjoyed the comfort provided by power and money, the chill has set in abruptly.

Evidence of a power struggle within the country’s dominant political force, Georgian Dream, can be seen in a January 12 plea deal that sent Irakli Garibashvili – once the favored successor of Bidzina Ivanishvili, Georgian Dream’s political impresario and billionaire bankroller – to prison for five years.

Garibashvili, who served as prime minister from 2013-15 and again from 2021-24, was formally charged on October 24 with large-scale financial impropriety. He ultimately arranged a deal under which he admitted guilt. In addition to jail time, he was ordered to pay a roughly $370,000 fine, along with the confiscation of allegedly illegally obtained assets. Without making a plea deal, he would have faced up to 12 years in prison.

Over the past year, Georgian Dream officials have tried to cast the party as an active force against corruption, opening investigations into former and even current high-ranking officials. Critics, however, argue that what looks on the surface like an anti-corruption drive is in fact an internal power struggle, a fight between competing factions for Ivanishvili’s favor.

The list of officials who have fallen out of favor continues to grow. Since last year, several figures who were not merely close to Georgian Dream but part of its core leadership have been arrested and charged. Among them are former Deputy Economy Minister Romeo Mikautadze, former Defense Minister Juansher Burchuladze, and former Prosecutor General Otar Partskhaladze, who has been charged with organizing a murder.

Just last month, the once considered untouchable former head of the State Security Service, Grigol Liluashvili, was arrested on bribery charges linked to several alleged schemes, including those connected to Georgia’s notorious scam call centers. Liluashvili faces up to 15 years in prison, if convicted.

According to the watchdog group Transparency International Georgia, the bevy of arrests do not amount to a genuine assault on grand corruption. Instead, the watchdog argues, they reflect selective justice rooted in factional infighting: the winners retain power, the losers end up behind bars.

“Those under investigation are mainly members of patronage networks, i.e. clans, associated either with the former head of the State Security Service, Grigol Liluashvili, or with former Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili,” the organization said in a recent report. “Investigations have selectively targeted specific former high-ranking officials of the Georgian Dream. It remains unclear exactly why Bidzina Ivanishvili has turned against his former subordinates.”

Pressure is not limited to prosecutions. In late December, Prime Minister Kobakhidze publicly acknowledged soaring food prices, blaming large markups and excessive profits by businesses, and announcing an investigation. Critics argue the move is less about consumer protection and more about intimidating major distributors and tightening political control over big business.

At the same time, Georgia’s international standing is slipping into territory once considered unthinkable. The country is now among 75 states whose nationals face an indefinite suspension of US immigrant visa processing starting January 21, following a decisionannounced by the US Department of State.

In Brussels, the signals are no less stark. On December 19, the European Commission published its eighth report under the Visa Suspension Mechanism, the first official assessment since the ultimatum deadline set for Georgia to reverse its authoritarian course passed. The report offers a scathing assessment of Georgian Dream’s efforts to address EU concerns.

“Ultimately, Georgia could lose its visa-free status entirely,” the report warns, citing the government’s failure to make “any meaningful progress” on the EU Commission’s recommendations to promote basic freedoms and justice for all Georgians.

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Eurasianet

Originally published at Eurasianet. Eurasianet is an independent news organization that covers news from and about the South Caucasus and Central Asia, providing on-the-ground reporting and critical perspectives on the most important developments in the region. A tax-exempt [501(c)3] organization, Eurasianet is based at Columbia University’s Harriman Institute, one of the leading centers in North America of scholarship on Eurasia. Read more at eurasianet.org.