Opposition link bill on American sanctions against Georgia with TBC Bank's case

A bill has been brought to US Congress on sanctions for Georgia' infringement of interests of those businessmen or organizations that have links with the USA. The opposition is convinced that this is a reaction to a criminal case against the leadership of the TBC Bank, which has created a threat to American investments into the construction of the Anaklia Port.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on August 2, 2018, based on the audit outcomes, a criminal case was initiated against the TBC Bank under the article on money laundering.

The bill "Sanctions Act on Fair Business Practices of Georgia in 2019" has been brought to the US House of Representatives by Republican Senator Markwein Mallin on February 28, 2019. If the project is adopted, the US authorities will start monitoring whether the Georgian government is not obstructing the fulfilment of Georgia's obligations or contractual agreements with US citizens-foreigners, permanently residing in the US, or legal entities established in accordance with the US legislation.

Should violations be revealed, a number of sanctions are envisaged. Firstly, no US government agency will provide Georgia with loans or financial assistance other than humanitarian ones. Secondly, the property and accounts of the Georgian officials, whom the USA considers to be involved in violations, will be arrested in the US territory.

The opposition believes that the initiative of Senator Mallin is directly related to the situation around the TBC Bank.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on April 28, 2019 at 12:48 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.