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informal leader.
The renewed lobbying effort comes as US lawmakers express frustration over what they call "backsliding" on Georgia’s commitments to build democratic institutions.
Chartwell Strategy Group, founded by David Tamasi—who served as finance chair for the Trump Victory Fund—will lobby the White House and Congress on behalf of Georgia, according to Foreign Agent Registration Act (FARA) filings published by the Justice Department on January 31.
The Georgian government is paying $780,000 per year to Chartwell Strategy Group to “help bring US-Georgia bilateral political and economic ties closer”, according to Business Media Group.
The contract is the second signed by the government with a US lobby group, while the Ministry of Economy has signed two such contracts.
The agreement that United National Movement (UNM) has signed with Orion Strategies is reportedly worth $250,000 per year.
"The registrar will work with the United National Movement to provide representatives of the US Congress and administration with information on current political processes in Georgia, as well as to understand what the United States can do to promote open and democratic processes in Georgia," the contract reads.
2.3 Georgian prosecutors move against another opposition leader
The Prosecutor’s Office in Georgia is to appeal against a Tbilisi City Court sentencing decision against opposition leader and former MP Nika Melia in the high-profile Cartu Bank case. It will seek a sentence of up to 10 years imprisonment compared to the fine requested by the judges.
The move comes shortly after a Georgian court sentenced another opposition leader, European Georgia Party head Gigi Ugulava, in an embezzlement case related to his term as mayor of Tbilisi during 2005-2013. Ugulava was sentenced to 38 months in prison.
In December, Tbilisi City Court found Melia guilty of abuse of authority in the Cartu Bank case. It banned him from taking public office for two years and three months and fined him GEL25,000 ($8,389).
The court found Melia not guilty of a charge of supporting the concealment of property by a state servant to avoid financial obligations. The prosecutor is to ask for up to 10 years in prison for Melia for this alleged deed.
Notably, Melia was among opposition leaders arrested in June 2019 after attending anti-government demonstrations in the front of the parliament. He is still awaiting a court ruling in this case.
Cartu Bank was set up by present Georgian Dream ruling party leader Bidzina Ivanishvili when he was in opposition, prior to 2012. He claims that the United
7 GEORGIA Country Report March 2020 www.intellinews.com
