The Board of Peace fund, established by US President Donald Trump, is empty, and the organization is facing a financial and political impasse, making the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip impossible, the Financial Times reported on Wednesday, citing four people with knowledge of the matter, AzerNEWS reports.
Day: May 27, 2026
The United Kingdom has sanctioned three Georgia-registered companies “operating Russia-focused exchanges seeking to evade sanctions” as part of its broader crackdown on crypto and illicit finance networks exploited by Russia to circumvent UK sanctions, British authorities announced on May 26.
The sanctioned companies were identified as Arvix LLC, Rapira Group LLC, and Aifory LLC. None of them or their owners are widely known to the Georgian public. The National Bank of Georgia (NBG) said the three companies are not under its regulatory supervision, while the Investigation Service of the Finance Ministry stated that an investigation into the firms is ongoing and has already led to “concrete legal consequences,” noting that the companies’ actual operations were not based in Georgia.
According to Georgia’s National Agency of Public Registry, Aifory LLC was registered in Tbilisi on June 22, 2023. The company was initially owned by Giorgi Nutsubidze, while the 2024 data lists Mikheil Gevorkiani as its owner.
Arvix LLC was registered in Tbilisi on October 26, 2023. Its director is listed as Davit Nutsubidze, while the current owner is reportedly Tamaz Garaev. No other public information is available about these individuals.
Rapira Group LLC was registered on November 9, 2022, under the directorship of Ilias Ahaevi. According to the latest public registry data from May 2026, the company is currently undergoing liquidation proceedings.
Under Georgian law, all individuals and companies operating crypto-related businesses must register as Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASPs) with the National Bank of Georgia and comply with anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing regulations. Currently, 39 entities are registered as VASPs in Georgia.
Commenting on the sanctions, the NBG said the three companies were operating outside its regulatory control. The bank noted that after it became aware in September 2025 that the companies were operating without relevant registration, it “provided information to law enforcement agencies and implemented appropriate supervisory measures.”
On May 27, the Investigation Service of the Ministry of Finance said the investigation established that Aifory LLC and Arvix LLC “were fictitiously registered in the names of other persons in exchange for a certain remuneration, while in reality they were operating in Russia, Moscow, and had no assets or offices in Georgia.”
The agency said that, under an April 28, 2026, court ruling, three defendants in the case were given fines of 30,000 GEL (about USD 11,000) and received suspended sentences, while Davit Jincharadze, identified as “the organizer of the crime,” was sentenced to nine years and six months in prison.
Regarding Rapira Group LLC, the Investigation Service said the company had been registered under a power of attorney by a British citizen and “operated exclusively through the website “rapira.net,” serving only Russian citizens.” According to the agency, the domain was “registered through a Russian registrar,” while the company had no recorded bank turnover, assets, or offices in Georgia, making its registration “purely formal in nature.”
The UK previously sanctioned Georgian pro-government TV channels Imedi TV and PosTV in February over “Russian disinformation,” citing their role in spreading “deliberately misleading information” about Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
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Opposition rally on Georgia’s Independence Day
26 мая, в День независимости Грузии, в Тбилиси состоялся митинг, организованный оппозиционным альянсом, который начался с шествия от двора Тбилисского государственного университета к зданию парламента и завершился на проспекте Руставели.
В митинге приняли участие тысячи человек. Это был самый масштабный протест за последние месяцы.
Главным посылом альянса, состоящего из девяти оппозиционных сил, стал единый протест против курса правительства и запуск новой кампании под названием «Грузия заслуживает лучшего».
The video shows the metro in Tbilisi late on 26 May 2026, as participants leave a large pro-European march held on Georgia’s Independence Day. “We will go all the way,” hundreds of people chant on the escalators.
Opposition leaders delivered speeches outside parliament.
According to Nika Gvaramia, leader of the Ahali party, which is part of the alliance, the opposition campaign will spread across the country and conclude with new democratic elections.
One of the opposition’s main demands is the release of political prisoners.
Opposition parties outside the alliance — including representatives of Lelo, Girchi and For Georgia — did not take part in the rally.
Georgia’s fifth president, Salome Zourabichvili, also joined the demonstration. She said protecting independence depends on unity.
The day unfolded amid tensions between the opposition and the authorities. Police prevented the opposition alliance from bringing sound equipment to the parliament building.
However, after the march began, organisers managed to install a sound system near parliament and address participants.
After the rally ended, police stopped a truck transporting speakers and a generator to the protest site. Officers fined the driver 1,000 lari ($375) and suspended his driving licence for one year.
Continuous protests in Georgia have persisted since late November 2024, when the ruling Georgian Dream party suspended the country’s European Union accession process.
Opposition rally on Georgia’s Independence Day
Thousands of people rallied in Tbilisi on Georgia’s Independence Day on May 26 at an anti-government protest march organized and led by the Opposition Alliance, which announced a new “Georgia Deserves Better” campaign at the end.
The march, culminating the two-month “national mobilization campaign” of the Opposition Alliance uniting nine parties, started at 20:00 from the first building of Tbilisi State University in Vake and ended outside Parliament on Rustaveli Avenue, a traditional protest site, with the roughly two-and-a-half-kilometer route closed to traffic as turnout was higher than usual.
The march came in defiance of Georgian Dream rule and followed the official morning ceremonies in the capital, attended and addressed by ruling party leaders and Patriarch Shio III.
Shortly after the march began at 20:00, a car carrying sound equipment unexpectedly entered the procession on Melikishvili Avenue, drawing cheers from rally organizers and participants, following earlier reports from opposition representatives that police had confiscated the vehicle after city authorities and the Interior Ministry refused permission to hold the rally as planned, including a stage and loudspeakers.
The march arrived on Rustaveli Avenue outside Parliament within an hour. Opposition leaders and representatives addressed the crowd, announcing the new “Georgia Deserves Better” campaign.
“We are launching a nationwide campaign: ‘Georgia Deserves Better,’ Nika Gvaramia of Ahali said in his address. “This campaign must end with new, democratic elections, and Bidzina Ivanishvili and his shameful, anti-Georgian regime must be thrown onto the trash heap. Yes, Georgia deserves better,” he said, calling on demonstrators to record video messages outlining their demands from the opposition and to publish them on social media.
“Today is the first day of a national mobilization, and this day has been a success,” Giorgi Vashadze of Strategy Aghmashebeli said, adding, “From today, the second phase of nationwide mobilization begins, meaning that at the next large gathering we must be even more numerous, and even more Georgians must stand together so that we can celebrate the final victory.”
In her speech to the crowd, Tamar Chergoleishvili of the Federalists party said, “Beyond the threats, we are facing opportunities. Russia is weakening, the balance of power in the world is changing…Russia is weakening in the South Caucasus, and we must take advantage of this opportunity…The Ivanishvili regime cannot use this opportunity. Using this opportunity requires a regime change. And we will change the regime, because the Georgian people deserve the best, and they will get the best.”
After the end of the rally, police reportedly stopped the vehicle that had delivered equipment to the demonstration, confiscated the driver’s licence for one year, and fined him GEL 1,000 (approximately USD 375). The Opposition Alliance launched a fundraising campaign to support the driver, saying the car had been his “only source” of income.
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