“Bidzina Ivanishvili is filing a lawsuit against Julius Baer,” Lasha Kalandadze, the attorney for Bidzina Ivanishvili, Honorary Chairman of the Georgian Dream-Democratic Georgia, issued a statement.
“As is well known to interested parties, Bidzina Ivanishvili has been pursuing litigation against Credit Suisse and its related legal entities in various jurisdictions for almost 10 years.
We inform you that the ongoing dispute against Credit Suisse in Singapore has been successfully concluded. The case in Bermuda, which has been successfully concluded in the courts of first and second instance, will be heard in the court of final instance in summer 2025. Civil cases are also beginning in Switzerland (the subject of dispute in Switzerland is compensation for amounts that were not covered by the ongoing disputes in Singapore and Bermuda). The public will be periodically informed about the progress and results of these cases.
We remind interested parties that a large portion of the assets that survived Credit Suisse’s illegal actions were transferred to another Swiss bank (Julius Baer), including the accounts where funds from hedge funds were to be deposited.
It should be noted that Julius Baer cooperated constructively for years, but over the last year, the relationship has changed radically; for almost six months, Julius Baer restricted information about accounts (fund movements) designated for funds received from hedge funds. There are numerous correspondence records confirming this. Bidzina Ivanishvili explained to the bank that he had the right to receive information about funds received from hedge funds and demanded an explanation from the bank about the legal basis for restricting his guaranteed right, however, the bank delayed its response. Only after Julius Baer became convinced that Bidzina Ivanishvili would pursue legal mechanisms to protect his rights did Julius Baer begin fulfilling their obligation to provide information.
Recently, relations have become complicated again. In Bidzina Ivanishvili’s opinion, the hedge funds (CarVal Credit Value Fund III, Promona Capital VIII, and TPG Opportunities Partners III) have violated fund return deadlines. According to the contract, Julius Baer is obligated to take measures to ensure the timely fulfilment of obligations by the hedge funds. However, Julius Baer only reports that it sends letters to hedge funds, but does not explain the content of the letters, nor about what actions it is taking or will take to ensure the fulfilment of obligations by hedge funds. Since Bidzina Ivanishvili cannot receive legally guaranteed information or explanation, he believes that Julius Baer and the aforementioned hedge funds are acting in coordination against/to the detriment of his interests.
Relations have deteriorated in other directions as well. Initially, the bank refused to execute a transfer order for Bidzina Ivanishvili and several of his family members. After Julius Baer received notification that the beneficiaries would pursue legal mechanisms to protect their rights, the bank executed the transfer order, however, it took almost one month to fulfil this obligation, whereas typically such orders are executed in one day.
Then in mid-December 2024, Julius Baer effectively threatened to close Bidzina Ivanishvili’s personal bank account, citing his status as a politically active person. The rationale for closing/cancelling the account on these grounds was not substantiated by Julius Baer. The bank didn’t even explain why this issue of cancelling a personal account on the grounds of being a politically active person came up on the agenda, particularly at the end of 2024. Julius Baer has not closed the personal account, however, informing the public about this action was deemed appropriate.
Finally, Julius Baer, in the beneficiaries’ opinion, incorrectly (rather, self-serving) interpreted the so-called American sanctions and informed Bidzina Ivanishvili’s family members and his companies that their bank accounts were effectively subject to the so-called American sanctions.
The above issues create preconditions for Bidzina Ivanishvili to consider/think that Julius Baer is engaging in political blackmail and that Julius Baer is also, in one form or another, involved in political blackmail.
Regarding the legal aspect, Bidzina Ivanishvili intends to initiate legal procedures against Julius Baer, including with the involvement of foreign lawyers, demanding the fulfilment of obligations by the bank and compensation for damages,” the statement reads.