FILE PHOTO: Founder of the Georgian Dream party Bidzina Ivanishvili speaks after the announcement of exit poll results in parliamentary elections, at the Georgian Dream party headquarters in Tbilisi, Georgia October 26, 2024. REUTERS/Irakli Gedenidze/File Photo
WASHINGTON/TBILISI (Reuters) -The United States on Friday sanctioned Georgian billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili, a former prime minister widely seen as the country's de facto leader, saying he was undermining democracy and allowing Russia to benefit.
Ivanishvili, who made billions in Russia in metals and telecoms in the 1990s, has spearheaded a turn away from the West in Georgia and accused foreign intelligence agencies of trying to drive it into war with Russia.
