August 15, 2025 - The South Caucasus News - SouthCaucasusNews.com

Six prominent Georgian civil society groups reported receiving inspection letters from the Anti-Corruption Bureau under Georgia’s version of the U.S. Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA), marking the first time critical watchdogs have been directly targeted under the controversial law that came into effect in May.

“On August 11, six organizations received another letter from the Anti-Corruption Bureau arguing we violated the so-called ‘Foreign Agents Registration Act’,” the CSOs said in a joint statement on August 15. “They also threaten us with criminal liability and request explanations on why we failed to register as agents.”

The affected groups include Civil Society Foundation (formerly Open Society Georgia Foundation), Sapari, Transparency International – Georgia, Media Development Foundation, International Society for Fair Elections and Democracy (ISFED), and Social Justice Center.

What’s in the letter

A letter dated August 8, sent to one of the watchdogs and seen by Civil.ge, refers to the Bureau’s previous inspections of the CSOs.

In June, eight CSOs, including the six above, reported receiving court orders about being inspected by the Anti-Corruption Bureau, asking, among others, to hand over sensitive data regarding beneficiaries. The orders, however, didn’t mention Georgian FARA, instead referring to three other laws, including Georgia’s Law on Political Associations, the Law on Grants, and the Law on Combating Corruption as grounds for inspection. The groups said at the time they refused to submit the confidential data of those under their legal protection.

The Bureau’s August letter then draws on that inspection, citing, among others, financial information requested from financial authorities and commercial banks regarding the funding, as well as public information about the group’s activities. Based on cited sources, the Bureau says the CSO’s activities “could constitute political activity” under Georgian FARA.

“It is possible that your organization might be engaging in, or intending to engage in, an activity with the belief or intention to influence the Georgian government, state institutions, or any part of the public and directed at shaping, adopting, or changing Georgia’s internal or foreign policy,” the letter states, noting that the group might be also carrying out activities “deriving from the political or public interests, approaches, or relations of a foreign government or a foreign political party.”

The letter warns of criminal liability for those who fail to register as an “agent of a foreign principal” under FARA and requests explanations for not registering on time.

The bureau also cites earlier remarks by NGO representatives regarding their refusal to comply with the June court order and about the “destruction of certain documentation,” requesting explanations on that matter as well. (Baia Pataraia, head of Sapari, a women’s rights organization, stated earlier that they destroyed parts of the archive to protect the sensitive information of beneficiaries amid inspections.)

The bureau then requests that the watchdogs submit data within ten days.

Georgian FARA

The Georgian interpretation of the American Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) took effect on May 31. It is the second foreign agents law adopted by the Georgian Dream parliament after last year’s “Law on Transparency of Foreign Influence,” aka “Russian law”, which also remains in force.

The Georgian FARA is an exact translation of the U.S. FARA document enacted in 1938. It mandates that those considered “agents of a foreign principal” register within ten days in a special FARA registry administered by the Anti-Corruption Bureau. Those who defy will face harsh penalties, including criminal prosecution and jail time. Citing the ambiguity of the document and the rhetoric of the party that adopted it, critics have feared that Georgian FARA will be used to target the same groups that the American version has largely spared – independent media and NGOs.

The Anti-Corruption Bureau, a state agency led by Razhden Kuprashvili, a man widely seen as loyal to the ruling party, has launched a special FARA portal for those willing to register. While the portal already contains applications from various organizations, the groups believed to be the primary targets of the law have pledged not to register, citing the local stigma associated with the term “agent,” which is often understood as “spy” or “traitor.” Leaders of Georgian Dream have repeatedly labeled their critics as “foreign agents.”

“We only serve the interests of our people and of Georgia,” the groups said, noting that, under the standards of the original American FARA, which “this law pretends to copy”, they are not eligible to register. The watchdogs added that the persecution of independent NGOs and free media, “in the style of Putin’s Russia,” is intended to undermine democracy, noting that they have no intention of living under “Russian laws” and will continue their work to defend the rights of the Georgian people.

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