The US Treasury sanctioned Georgian billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili, the founder of Georgian Dream, the political party that has turned away from the West in favor of closer ties with Russia.

The United States on Friday sanctioned Georgian billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili, a former prime minister widely seen as the country's de facto leader, saying he was undermining democracy and allowing Russia to benefit.

The US has imposed sanctions on Georgia's former prime minister and billionaire founder of the Georgian Dream party, Bidzina Ivanishvili. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Ivanishvili and his party had "derailed Georgia's Euro-Atlantic future",

The U.S. has imposed sanctions on Georgia’s former prime minister and billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili, accusing him and the ruling party he founded of “undermining” the country’s “democratic and Euro-Atlantic future” to benefit Russia.