Today, May 31, the Foreign Agents Registration Act, also known as FARA, came into force. Although Georgian Dream translated it directly from the American version, according to them, it is planned to be used broadly, using methods typical of authoritarian regimes. The law in question applies to relations that are not covered by the so-called Russian law adopted last year. In addition, the law also provides for criminal liability.

The main function of enforcing the law was assigned to the LEPL Anti-Corruption Bureau, which finally revealed the partisan bias. Although it took many years to develop special guidelines in the US and, in the end, the obligation to register as an agent only applied to activities that directly pursued the interests of another state, the Bureau explained at public meetings that it intended to subject all legal and natural persons receiving foreign funding to the obligation to register as an agent if, in the Bureau's opinion, they were engaged in political activity. Accordingly, there is a risk that the Bureau will eventually become the main repressive body against Georgian civil society and, in general, dissent, which will be used to suppress critical sentiments in society.

The Anti-Corruption Bureau was established in 2022 as part of the implementation of the recommendations of the European Commission. The recommendation provided for the independence and functional strengthening of the anti-corruption body. By establishing the Anti-Corruption Bureau, representatives of Georgian Dream declared this recommendation of the European Commission implemented. In the process of determining the mandate of the Bureau, the Parliament did not fully implemented the recommendations of the civil sector, and even at the time of the establishment of the agency, there was criticism from civil society regarding the mandate of the agency and the guarantees of its independence.

Despite the goal of establishing the Anti-Corruption Bureau (effective fight against corruption), its activities turned out to be ineffective from the very beginning. For example, instead of monitoring declarations, identifying alleged corruption cases, responding to them, and informing the public, the publicity of declarations has been restricted for an indefinite period. The Anti-Corruption Bureau explains this fact with a completely vague reason - “technical error”, whereas the publicity of declarations and their active monitoring are of paramount importance in terms of the fight against corruption. In recent years, the public has learned about a number of cases[1] of alleged high-level corruption through the media, although the Bureau has not responded to any of them.

The political bias of the Anti-Corruption Bureau became especially obvious before the parliamentary elections of October 26, 2024. In the pre-election period, at the initiative of the head of the agency, the Bureau checked the property declarations of 30 opposition members of the Georgian Parliament and City Council. However, the most famous decision of the Anti-Corruption Bureau during the pre-election process was the declaration of the civil movement Choose Europe and Transparency International Georgia as “election subjects with a declared goal”. With this decision, the Bureau obliged them to: provide financial information, refuse to accept funding from abroad, limit activities that could be considered voter bribery, and keep detailed financial records. Ultimately, the Anti-Corruption Bureau did not implement this decision after Prime Minister Kobakhidze publicly appealed to the head of the Bureau not to consider the above-mentioned organizations as “subjects with election goals.”

According to the 2025 state budget, the budget of the Anti-Corruption Agency was increased by GEL 3 million and was determined at GEL 11.5 million. In addition, with the enactment of the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA), it acquires a new mandate (which has no connection with its original purpose). Accordingly, the agency created in 2022 to combat corruption risks in the country has openly turned into a body that pursues partisan interests, which has the leverage to combat dissent.