Georgian Ruling Party Seeks to Ban Unauthorized Grants

The ruling Georgian Dream - Democratic Georgia party has proposed legislative amendments to ban individuals and organizations from accepting grants unless authorized by the government.

"Because a grant by its nature is money transferred to the recipient gratuitously, bearing in mind the purpose of strengthening the sovereignty and security of the state, it is important to implement a rule requiring consent of the government of Georgia or its designated authorized person or body so that external forces will not be able to bankroll campaigns in our country to romanticize the hurling of Molotov cocktails, violent rallies or other destructive actions," he said at a news conference, The Caspian Post reports, citing TASS.

According to the politician, the new rule for grants would not apply to money allocated for study or scientific activities abroad, as well as to sports associations. The plan is to expedite the passage of the amendments through the legislature.

According to Kirtskhalia, the Anti-Corruption Bureau of Georgia’s cabinet would be charged with overseeing grants. If a recipient takes foreign money without the nod from the Georgian authorities, he will be fined double the amount of the grant.

On April 1, the Georgian parliament adopted a bill on foreign agents, which is an exact copy of the US Foreign Agents Registration Act. Unlike the bill "On Transparency of Foreign Influence" that was passed last year, this bill stipulates criminal punishment and applies to individuals. Also on April 1, the parliament adopted amendments to the law on broadcasting, which introduced news presentation standards on television.