Accounts of Atlantic Council employees have been frozen.
For four days now, two employees of the Georgian branch of the American organization “Atlantic Council,” Sofio Gelava and Eto Buziashvili, who conduct research on Russian influence and the spread of disinformation in Georgia, have had restricted access to their bank accounts.
On October 24, two days before the parliamentary elections, financial police conducted searches at the homes of Gelava and Buziashvili. That same morning, investigators from the Ministry of Finance seized equipment from three offices and sealed the workspaces. In a subsequent statement, the financial police noted that these actions were based on operational information related to an investigation into so-called call centers.
The agency has not specified how exactly the two researchers are connected to the criminal “call center” scheme.
According to a court decision, an investigation has been launched on charges of large-scale tax evasion as part of an organized group, fraud committed by an organized group, and money laundering by an organized group. These charges carry penalties ranging from five to 12 years in prison.
Sofio Gelava and Eto Buziashvili have not yet been summoned for questioning; however, the Ministry of Finance’s Investigative Service has already imposed restrictions on them—their accounts were frozen as part of the so-called “call center” case.
“This might be an attempt to damage our reputation. They’re trying to link our names to the ‘call center’ case. I can hardly imagine how they intend to make that connection. They’ll find nothing on my bank accounts to fuel any speculation. I have a salary account and a savings deposit, which I’ve been adding to bit by bit my whole life, and that will be documented,” Eto Buziashvili told Radio Liberty.
The Helsinki Commission commented on the cases of Buziashvili and Gelava. In a statement, the commission’s chairman, Joe Wilson, noted that “the authorities of the ‘Georgian Dream’ are rapidly moving toward Russian-style authoritarianism.”
The Atlantic Council is demanding greater clarity from the Georgian government regarding the case and expects assurances of the safety of its employees and the return of seized equipment.
Currently, personal electronic devices, mobile phones, and personal computers have been seized from the homes of Eto Buziashvili and Sofio Gelava. The researchers are being considered as witnesses in the investigation.