Georgia's State Security Service (SUS) said on July 24 it had launched an investigation into an alleged "plot" to assassinate Bidzina Ivanishvili, the founder and honorary chairman of the ruling Georgian Dream party, and then "violently overthrow" the government.
The SUS said in a statement on July 24 the investigation is looking into "criminal activities" allegedly supported by "former high officials."
The investigation comes amid heightened tensions in the Caucasus nation over the recently passed controversial law on "foreign agents" that has juxtaposed the country's aspirations to join the European Union with accusations the legislation -- analogous to a law passed a decade ago in Russia -- is another move toward warmer relations with Moscow.
"The purpose of the mentioned criminal actions is to violently overthrow the state government by destructive forces in the background of creating disorder and weakening the government," SUS said.
SEE ALSO: Georgian Opposition Lawmakers Challenge 'Foreign Agent' Law In Constitutional CourtSUS did not name any suspects in the case, though local media said at least six people had been questioned, some of whom had fought on the side of Ukraine in the war to repel invading Russian forces.
However, the announcement of the investigation came one day after the Tbilisi City Court questioned Gela Kakhabrishvili, who fought on the Ukrainian side against occupying Russian armed forces.
At a briefing in Tbilisi, Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze blamed unspecified "global political forces" behind the plot to kill Ivanishvili, adding that "the same forces" were behind the assassination attempts of former U.S. President Donald Trump and Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico.
Kobakhidze, a member of Georgian Dream, gave no evidence to directly link the investigation to the assassination attempts.
On June 4, the speaker of parliament, Georgian Dream member Shalva Papuashvili, signed the foreign agent bill into law.
SEE ALSO: Interview: Georgian Dream 'Likely' To Try To Steal Election, But Its Support Is Deeper Than Many ThinkTwenty days later, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said the European Union will downgrade political contacts with Georgia and consider freezing financial aid to the Tbilisi government in reaction to the law.
Critics say the legislation was introduced by Georgian Dream in order to cement the party's grip on power ahead of elections later this year seen as crucial for Georgia's Euro-Atlantic aspirations.
The law requires civil-society and media organizations that receive more than 20 percent of their funding from foreign sources to submit to oversight that could encompass sanctions for as-yet-undefined criminal offenses.
Both the United States and the EU have warned Georgian Dream that ignoring criticism and cracking down violently on protesters will have negative consequences.
Georgia obtained the coveted EU candidate status last December but has yet to start actual accession talks, which could last for years.
Georgian Dream has insisted it remains committed to joining Western institutions and the law was only meant to increase transparency on NGO funding.
But Western governments and organizations have issued stark statements warning the Georgian Dream government that the Tbilisi's EU path will be blocked if the law comes into force.