The Legal Affairs Committee in the Georgian Parliament on Wednesday supported the amended version of the deoligarchisation bill – proposed by the ruling Georgian Dream party as part of the work to meet the conditions outlined by the European Union last year for granting its membership candidate status to the country – with the majority of votes.
The Venice Commission recommended that the process of recognising an individual as an oligarch should not be politicised […] therefore instead of the Government the Anti-Corruption Bureau will have the authority to launch the procedure [of recognising individual as an oligarch], consequently, the procedure will be fully depoliticised”, Anri Okhanashvili, the Chair of the Committee said.
According to other changes, individuals recognised as oligarchs will no longer be prohibited from making donations from their funds to support political parties and holding gatherings or demonstrations with political demands, the Committee Chair said, adding that the Bureau’s decision to recognise individuals as oligarchs would be subject to court control.
The bill will be again sent to the Venice Commission of the Council of Europe for consideration before its submission to the plenary session of the legislative body, Okhanashvili noted.
