TBILISI (Reuters) – Georgia’s state security service said on Wednesday it was investigating a plot to assassinate billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili, honorary chairman of the ruling party, with local media reporting that some suspects had links to Ukraine.
The State Security Service said in a post on Facebook that it was looking into criminal activities that aimed to “violently overthrow” the state government and create unrest.
This included the murder of Ivanishvili, the South Caucasus country’s richest man who founded the ruling Georgian Dream party.
The security service did not name the suspects, but Georgian media said at least six people have been summoned for questioning, most of whom fought against Russia in the Ukraine war.
Georgian authorities have repeatedly accused Ukraine-based Georgians fighting against Russia of plotting a coup to overthrow the government. Tbilisi says it opposes Russia’s war but has declined to impose sanctions on Moscow over the conflict.
(Reporting by Reuters; Writing by Lucy Papachristou; Editing by Andrew Heavens and Sharon Singleton)
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