Lawyers of Bidzina Ivanishvili are disseminating information regarding the ongoing cases between Georgian Dream founder and Credit Suisse.

“We promised to provide the interested persons/society with information regarding the Bidzina Ivanishvili vs Credit Suisse cases. Accordingly, we will inform you of the current situation.

In the ongoing civil case in Bermuda, the decision of the Bermuda Court of Appeal on June 23, 2023, left unchanged the decision of the Court of First Instance of Bermuda, according to which a subsidiary of Credit Suisse was ordered to pay USD 607 million in favor of B. Ivanishvili’s family (plaintiffs). In an ongoing civil dispute in Singapore, the Court of First Instance of Singapore ordered Credit Suisse Trust Limited on May 26, 2023 to pay USD 926 million in damages in favor of the plaintiffs.

Assets surviving illegal/criminal activities in relation to ongoing court cases in various jurisdictions, if we do not take into account the time frame of the case, there are no claims. There are successes at all jurisdictions at the moment.

Illegal obstacles/problems have been created, and continue to be, with matters outside the courts, namely, with respect to funds/assets saved from Credit Suisse’s related legal entities and, as has been repeatedly stated, criminal activities.

It is well known to the concerned persons/public that a large part of the assets saved from Credit Suisse/related entities/ were transferred from Credit Suisse to another Swiss bank (Julius Baer), although the assets were managed by a Credit Suisse trust based in Genzi Island.

The Credit Suisse trust has created barriers to access to assets since March 2022. Initially, the trust explained the non-fulfillment of the obligation with the reason: “current geopolitical events in Eastern Europe”.

The only way out of the current impasse was to terminate the trust agreement and dissolve the trust, although the Credit Suisse trust, in this case, also tried to artificially drag the matter on. In particular, the trust indicated that the court had to decide whether the dissolution of the trust was against the interests of the minors and future/unborn descendants. Although the outcome of the court decision was predictable for the parties, it was still necessary to appeal to the court.

The Credit Suisse trust tried its best to delay the court proceedings as well. In fact, after one year (March 24, 2023), the result that was predictable from the beginning and for which only one session would be needed to be discussed in court. The case was discussed in one session.

It should be noted that the Credit Suisse Trust passed a resolution on June 14, 2023, just two and a half months (approximately) after the court’s decision to dissolve the trust and distribute the assets.

Based on the above, the Swiss bank (Julius Baer) should ensure the transfer/distribution of the assets to the claimants. Julius Baer distributed approximately 5% of assets.

An obstacle was encountered in the transfer of the remaining assets (95%). In particular, 95% of the assets to be transferred are placed in one of the Hedge Funds, which, in turn, have distributed the largest part of the assets in American funds, and a relatively small part in Western European funds.

There have been multiple appeals from Julius Baer, however, although procedurally it is possible to settle the issue in a few minutes (only technical actions are to be carried out by the funds), it is almost a month, as we know, American and Western European funds are obstructing the transfer of assets to claimants.

The transfer of the assets on which the decision has actually been made by the court, including the subsidiary of Credit Suisse, in the form of a resolution.

This, in turn, means that from March 2022, that is, as the Credit Suisse trust noted, “due to the ongoing geopolitical events in Eastern Europe”, B. Ivanishvili and his family members have limited access to a certain part of their assets.

And finally, we express hope that the legal battle will yield results and access to full assets will be restored”, - reads the released statement.