Georgian Court Fines Opposition Leader $12.3 Million

Bidzina Ivanishvili heads the Georgian Dream coalition.

The Tbilisi City Court has fined opposition leader Bidzina Ivanishvili the equivalent of $12.3 million for a cash withdrawal in the run-up to October's parliamentary elections.

The court fined Ivanishvili for taking out some $2.5 million from his bank accounts, which state auditors say might have been illegally diverted to Ivanishvili's Georgian Dream coalition.

The same court earlier fined opposition politician and former football star Kakha Kaladze $10.3 million because he withdrew $2 million from his bank accounts without supplying required information about how the money was spent.

Kaladze will run for parliament as part of the Georgian Dream opposition coalition.

Based on reporting by AFP