Georgia’s State Security Service (SSSG) said on July 24 it is investigating an alleged plot to assassinate Bidzina Ivanishvili, the founder and honorary chair of the ruling Georgian Dream (GD) party, and “violently overthrow” the government.

The investigation of the claimed preparation of a terrorist act is examining allegations that former Georgian officials and Ukrainian law enforcement agencies are involved.

TV Imedi coverage of the claimed plot said Georgian fighters in Ukraine, fighting against the Russian invasion, have been summoned for questioning.

Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze called the situation "highly concerning". He compared it to recent assassination attempts on Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico and former US President Donald Trump, attributing them to global political forces.

GD MP Mamuka Mdinaradze echoed this sentiment, linking the alleged plot to a broader "pseudo-liberal fascism" agenda that included the assassination attempts on Trump and Fico and now a planned bomb attack on Ivanishvili.

Opposition politicians, however, see the investigation as government manipulation ahead of the crucial parliamentary elections that will take place in October.

Tina Bokuchava of the United National Movement (UNM) dismissed the allegations as "conspiracy, disinformation, and Russian-style propaganda" used by Ivanishvili to maintain power. Eka Beselia of the For Justice party noted that similar past allegations lacked conclusive outcomes, suggesting this new investigation is simply another form of repression.

Previously, last October, the SSSG accused three Serbian trainers associated with the Center for Applied Non-Violent Actions and Strategies (CANVAS) and funded by USAID of plotting to overthrow Georgia’s government. Despite USAID and CANVAS insisting the training was for nonviolent civic activism, the SSSG summoned participants for questioning, but no arrests were made.

On July 23, Georgian fighter Gela Kakhabrishvili was questioned in court about the alleged plot. Pro-government media presented this as evidence of the plot against Ivanishvili. However, Kakhabrishvili’s lawyer, Mikheil Ramishvili, clarified that no concrete evidence of a planned terrorist act was provided, noting the investigation has been ongoing since 2015, with an additional article on state coups added in 2017. He questioned the prolonged nature of the probe.

Georgia remains locked in an intense debate over whether the recent introduction of a Russia-style “foreign agents” law aimed at civil society indicates that GD is set on moving for ever closer relations with the Kremlin, rather than a future founded on eventual European Union and Nato membership. Western governments and organisations have warned the GD government that Tbilisi's path to EU accession will be blocked if the law goes into effect.