Transparency International (TI) Georgia, the anti-corruption watchdog, wrote at the time that the change – which allows tax-free transfer of assets from offshore accounts to Georgia – may have been introduced to serve the interests of the country’s richest person and former prime minister, Bidzina Ivanishvili.

He is the founder and honorary chairman of the country’s ruling party, Georgian Dream.

“Now it is clear, those changes were made for him,” says senior economics analyst at TI Georgia, Beso Namchavadze.

With an estimated wealth of $4.9bn (£3.9bn), Mr Ivanishvili made his money in 1990s Russia, in computing, metals and banking. Most of his wealth is believed to be tucked away in offshore companies.

Georgia was plunged into political crisis and daily street protests last May when the country’s MPs passed the contentious “transparency on foreign influence bill”, often dubbed the “foreign agents law”.

Under this legislation, media and non-governmental organisations that receive more than 20% of their funding from abroad have to register as “organisations acting in the interest of a foreign power”, submit themselves to stringent audits, or face punitive fines. It was widely seen as a move to prevent US and other Western influence on the country.

Protests then continued when the Georgian Dream-led government won disputed parliamentary elections in October. Protests were spurred again at the start of December when it said it would be putting EU accession talks on hold.

Hundreds of peaceful protesters were arrested and severely beaten up by the police.

In response to this crackdown, the US government announced sanctions against Mr Ivanishvili at the end of last year.

There is also the possibility of sanctions from the UK. Last month James MacClearly, a Liberal Democrat MP, introduced an Early Day Motion in the UK parliament calling on the government to impose sanctions on Mr Ivanishvili.

The motion expressed “deep concern at the suspension of Georgia’s EU accession process and the increasing use of excessive force against peaceful protesters”.

TI Georgia estimates that if the UK imposed sanctions on Mr Ivanishvili his entire business empire would be affected, because he has holding companies registered in two British Overseas Territories – British Virgin Islands and Cayman Islands.

“All his big business, which he has in Georgia, in the hospitality sector, in the energy sector, all the parent companies of these Georgian companies, the last beneficiaries are registered in these so-called offshore territories,” says Beso Namchavadze.

He adds that TI Georgia believes that Mr Ivanishvili and other family members are continuing to transfer ownership of companies they previously controlled through offshore entities to newly established firms in Georgia.

In January of this year, paintings and other artwork worth nearly $500m were imported into Georgia, according to data published by the Ministry of Finance.

Many believe the artwork was from Mr Ivanishvili’s valuable collection.

“For everybody who knows him it’s pretty clear that this is something that he values the most out of all the assets, and all the wealth, that he has,” says Tina Khidasheli, Georgia’s ex-defence minister and the head of the non-governmental organisation Civic Idea.

“He is going to bring paintings back and he does not want to pay tax on it.”

The head of Georgia’s parliamentary committee on finance and budget, Paata Kvijinadze, recently defended the tax-free transfer of assets from offshore accounts to Georgia.

“If anyone benefited from this law, I am happy about it,” he said in a post on social media. “This is exactly what the law was meant to be: to bring companies from offshore zones and attract more investments into the country”.

In response to the proposed UK sanctions, Georgia’s ruling party issued a statement defending Mr Ivanishvili, saying that a threat of sanctions was “without any foundation” against the party founder who brought “democratic breakthrough to the country”.

Separately, Mr Ivanishvili’s lawyer announced last month that his client is suing Swiss bank Julius Baer for, among other reasons, misinterpreting “the so-called” American sanctions, which the lawyer described as “political blackmail”.

The US sanctions on Mr Ivanishvili call for his assets to be frozen, and place restrictions on US citizens and companies from doing business personally with him, but they do not affect his companies or family members.

For more than a decade Mr Ivanishvili has been involved in legal battles with another Swiss bank, Credit Suisse, over fraud and mismanagement of his money.

Some believe that the billionaire’s mistrust of the West and increased use of conspiracy theories at home, such as accusing adversaries of being part of the “global war party”, or “deep state”, originate in his long-standing financial grievances.

Ever since he became convinced that Credit Suisse was part of a grand conspiracy against him, says Tina Khdasheli. “Bidzina Ivanishvili held Georgia hostage to his personal financial issues.”

Experts say that even though Mr Ivanishvili’s current official position is the honorary chairman of the ruling party, there is a clear understanding that he remains the number one person in Georgian politics. Sanctions against him are therefore seen as sanctions against the entire government.

Nika Gilauri was prime minister of Georgia from 2009 to 2012. He now leads a private company called Reformatics, which advises governments around the world on economic reform.

Mr Gilauri says that Georgia’s continuing political instability and international isolation is negatively impacting the economy. “We are seeing a very negative effect on FDI, foreign direct investment, if you take nine months of 2024 compared to nine months of 2023, we have a 40% drop. So going forward this is going to continue to get worse.”

But the Georgian government paints a different picture.

Last month Georgia’s Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze signed a $6bn inward investment agreement with UAE property group Emaar.

Levan Davitashvili, the Minister of Economy described it as the “largest foreign investment deal” in decades, which was expected to contribute 1.5% growth to the economy.

Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze has even suggested that 10% growth was now “absolutely realistic” for the Georgian economy.

But recently published research by Policy and Management Consulting Group (PMCG), a Georgian research firm, said that the prospect for the next six months was “extremely negative”.

It highlighted the impact of the continuing political turmoil, and said that the suspension of EU membership talks “was negatively viewed by all surveyed economists”.

Mr Gilauri of Reformatics says their own analysis shows that Georgia’s economic growth this year will be zero.

“Going forward, we will have a budgetary problem, a currency exchange problem. We will have an inflation problem. We will have a jobs problem, a job creation problem, and we will have economic decline problem.

“Having new elections is the only way forward for the country as well as for Bidzina Ivanishvili personally.”

A majority of member states, including the UK, Germany and France, said that the ICC was “a vital pillar of the international justice system”.

Trump announced the sanctions after hosting Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu – the first foreign leader to visit him since returning to power.

Last year, the ICC issued an arrest warrant for Netanyahu over alleged war crimes in Gaza – which Israel denies – as well as a Hamas commander. The US has condemned the court’s “shameful moral equivalency” between Israel and Hamas.

The US and Israel do not recognise the authority of the ICC, the only global court with powers to prosecute individuals for genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes. It has also previously launched investigations into US citizens.

The ICC counts 125 member states around the world, including the UK and many European nations.

The UK, France and Germany were among the 79 signatories to a joint statement issued on Friday to condemn Trump’s executive order. Australia, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Italy were among the absent.

Earlier on Friday, the ICC had called on its member states and global civil society to “stand united for justice and fundamental human rights.”

It pledged to continue “providing justice and hope to millions of innocent victims of atrocities across the world”.

The ICC last year issued arrest warrants for US-allied Israeli leaders, and a Hamas commander, over the war in Gaza.

ICC prosecutors have said there are “reasonable grounds” to suggest Netanyahu, his former defence minister Yoav Gallant, and Hamas’s Mohammed Deif – who was killed last year – bear “criminal responsibility for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity”.

But a White House memo circulated on Thursday accused the ICC of creating a “shameful moral equivalency” between Hamas and Israel by issuing the warrants at the same time.

Trump’s order said the ICC’s recent actions “set a dangerous precedent” which threatened to “infringe upon the sovereignty of the United States”. It argued the ICC “undermines” the national security and foreign policy work of Washington and its allies.

The order also said the US and Israel “are thriving democracies with militaries that strictly adhere to the laws of war”.

The sanctions were announced while Netanyahu was on a visit to Washington.

The list of affected individuals has not yet been announced, but the sanctions could target people who work in ICC investigations. Sanctions could include financial and visa restrictions placed on individuals and their families.

The court’s technical and IT operations – including evidence gathering – could also be affected. Observers have voiced fears that victims of alleged atrocities may hesitate to testify.

The court’s inaugural chief prosecutor has told the BBC how the rest of the world responds will be most important.

“It’s a challenge for the all the state parties – for all Europe, UK, South Africa, Argentina, Brazil, Japan, New Zealand, Australia – are they going to let Mr Trump to become the global president?” Luis Moreno Ocampo told the BBC Newshour programme.

The UN has called for the measure to be reversed, while European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the ICC “must be able to freely pursue the fight against global impunity”.

But Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said he “strongly” commended Trump’s executive order.

He claimed the ICC’s actions were “immoral and have no legal basis”, accusing the court of not operating “in accordance with international law”.

The US has repeatedly rejected any ICC jurisdiction over American officials or citizens, and has accused the court of placing constraints on Israel’s right to self-defence, while ignoring Iran and anti-Israel groups.

During his first term in office, Trump imposed sanctions on ICC officials who were investigating whether US forces had committed war crimes in Afghanistan.

This included a travel ban and asset freezes against former chief prosecutor Fatou Bensouda.

Those sanctions were lifted by President Joe Biden’s administration.

But during his last weeks in office, Biden also criticised the ICC’s warrant for Netanyahu, calling the move “outrageous” and saying there was no equivalence between Israel and Hamas.

In response to efforts to what they described as attempts to challenge the ICC’s authority, nine nations – including South Africa and Malaysia – launched the Hague Group last month in an effort to defend the court and its rulings.

Trump’s signing of his latest executive order follows his announcement of a plan for the US to “take over” Gaza, resettle its Palestinian population and turn the territory into the “Riviera of the Middle East”.

After Arab leaders and the UN condemned the idea, the US president restated it on his Truth Social social media platform on Thursday.

The measure places financial and visa restrictions on individuals and their families who assist in ICC investigations of American citizens or allies.

Trump signed the measure as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was visiting Washington.

Last November, the ICC issued an arrest warrant for Netanyahu over alleged war crimes in Gaza, which Israel denies. The ICC also issued a warrant for a Hamas commander.

The Netherlands, which hosts the court, said it “regrets” Trump’s order.

“The court’s work is essential in the fight against impunity,” Dutch Foreign Minister Caspar Veldkamp said on X.

A White House memo circulated on Thursday accused the Hague-based ICC of creating a “shameful moral equivalency” between Hamas and Israel by issuing the warrants at the same time.

Trump’s executive order said the ICC’s recent actions “set a dangerous precedent” that endangered Americans by exposing them to “harassment, abuse and possible arrest”.

“This malign conduct in turn threatens to infringe upon the sovereignty of the United States and undermines the critical national security and foreign policy work of the United States government and our allies, including Israel,” the order said.

The US is not a member of the ICC and has repeatedly rejected any jurisdiction by the body over American officials or citizens.

The White House accused the ICC of placing constraints on Israel’s right to self-defence, while ignoring Iran and anti-Israel groups.

In his first term in office, Trump imposed sanctions on ICC officials who were investigating whether US forces had committed war crimes in Afghanistan. Those sanctions were lifted by President Joe Biden’s administration.

Last month, the US House of Representatives voted to sanction the ICC, but the bill foundered in the Senate.

More than 120 countries are members of the court, including many European nations, but the US nor Israel are not.

The ICC is a court of last resort and is meant to intervene only when national authorities cannot or will not prosecute.

Trump’s executive order said that “both nations [the US and Israel] are thriving democracies with militaries that strictly adhere to the laws of war”.

During his last weeks in office, President Biden also criticised the ICC’s warrant for Netanyahu, calling the move “outrageous” and saying there was no equivalence between Israel and Hamas.

Trump’s signing of his latest executive order follows his announcement during a joint press conference with the Israeli prime minister on Tuesday about a plan for the US to “take over” Gaza, resettle its Palestinian population and turn the territory into the “Riviera of the Middle East”.

After Arab leaders and the UN condemned the idea, the US president restated it on his Truth Social social media platform on Thursday.

“The Gaza Strip would be turned over to the United States by Israel at the conclusion of fighting,” Trump wrote, referring to the war between Israel and Hamas that is currently under a ceasefire.

He repeated that the plan would involve resettling Palestinians, and that no American soldiers would be deployed.

His post did not make clear whether the two million residents of the Palestinian territory would be invited to return, leaving officials scrambling to explain.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Wednesday any displacement would be temporary.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Gazans would leave for an “interim” period while reconstruction took place.

Netanyahu has praised Trump’s “remarkable” plan to re-make Gaza. On Thursday, Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz ordered the military to prepare for “voluntary departure” of Gaza’s residents.

He said the plan would include departures via land, sea and air.

Trump signed the order as Netanyahu continued his visit to Washington, meeting lawmakers from both the Republican and Democratic parties on Capitol Hill.

The Israeli prime minister also presented a golden pager to Trump.

The gift was a reference to Israel’s deadly operation against Hezbollah in September last year, using booby-trapped communications devices.

Dozens were killed and thousands injured in the attacks, including some civilians, according to Lebanese officials.

Financial sanctions on Russia were introduced following the annexation of Crimea in 2014 and the wider invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

They include bans on exporting weapons technology, facilitating the illegal trade of Russian oil and generally assisting President Vladimir Putin’s government.

A law was introduced four years ago to allow the UK to convict those breaching the sanctions.

However, in a letter to MPs, the NCA’s director-general pointed to the complexity of cases and said charges had only been brought once.

Last week Foreign Secretary David Lammy said he was making it his “personal mission to choke off Russian revenues” through sanctions.

But critics have long claimed that Western sanctions are less effective than first hoped, and figures last year showed the Russian economy was growing.

Investigations into potential breaches of financial sanctions are carried out by a Treasury unit called the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI).

The OFSI received an extra £50m of funding in March to improve enforcement of the UK’s sanctions regime.

In October, BBC News revealed the OFSI was carrying out 37 investigations into UK-linked businesses for potentially breaking Russian oil sanctions.

A further 15 cases had closed without any fines or other punishments issued and it is not known how many more have closed since.

In September, the body issued its first Russia-related penalty when it fined a concierge company £15,000 for having a sanctioned individual on its client list.

London-based firm Integral Concierge Services was found to have made or received 26 payments that involved a person whose assets had been frozen as part of the Russia sanctions.

In November, MPs on Parliament’s Treasury Select Committee quizzed OFSI officials about the effectiveness of their investigations, but officials said the NCA was the body ultimately responsible for prosecuting and convicting those found to have breached the rules.

In a subsequent letter to the committee’s chair, the NCA’s Director-General, Graeme Biggar, pointed to the “complex and lengthy” nature of the cases.

He said that similar cases in comparable countries took an average of seven years to be completed.

The Sanctions and Anti Money Laundering Act, which is the legislation used to bring prosecutions, was only introduced four years ago.

Mr Biggar said: “Financial investigations of this nature are typically complex and lengthy. As a result, there have been no concluded prosecutions for offences under the new Sanctions and Anti Money Laundering Act.”

He added that the NCA had a “number of ongoing investigations with respect to financial sanctions breaches and other relevant crimes, some of which are awaiting charging decisions”.

In February last year, the NCA did bring charges against the former governor of a Crimean city, who was charged with seven counts of circumventing sanctions and two of money laundering.

Treasury Select Committee chair Dame Meg Hillier said it was “critical the government can demonstrate that there are consequences when sanctions are breached”.

She added that “we must maintain the pressure on Russia-linked organisations and ensure there is a clear deterrent which prevents anyone from attempting to circumvent sanctions against Russia”.

In November, David Lammy said Western sanctions had “deprived Russia of more than $400 billion since February 2022, which is equivalent to four more years of funding for the invasion”.

When asked by MPs whether he would be taking action against UK companies helping facilitate the Russian oil industry, he said, “There is more to come, I suspect, over the coming days.”

It is understood that no such action has yet been taken, but the government did appoint former Labour MP Baroness Margaret Hodge as an anti-corruption champion in December.

In a statement on Thursday, the US Treasury Department said that, under al-Burhan’s leadership, the SAF has “committed lethal attacks on civilians, including airstrikes against protected infrastructure including schools, markets, and hospitals”.

“The  SAF is also responsible for the routine and intentional denial of humanitarian access, using food deprivation as a war tactic,” it said.

The move comes just days after the Biden administration imposed sanctions on Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, the leader of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a Sudanese paramilitary group that has been locked in a war with the SAF since April 2023.

Under Dagalo’s leadership, “the RSF has engaged in serious human rights abuses, including widespread sexual violence and executing defenseless civilians and unarmed fighters”, the Treasury Department said on January 7.

Washington also accused the RSF and its allied militias of committing genocide in western Sudan’s Darfur region.

The war in Sudan has killed thousands of people and pushed the country into a dire humanitarian crisis.

More than 8 million Sudanese have been internally displaced, while 3 million others have fled to neighbouring countries, according to United Nations figures.

A UN-backed group that monitors global hunger also warned late last month that famine was spreading rapidly across Sudan, with famine conditions confirmed in parts of Darfur, among other regions.

When asked about Thursday’s sanctions during a briefing in Washington, DC, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken told reporters that the Sudanese Armed Forces “continues to target civilians” in the country.

“It’s obstructed the advancement of a peace process. It’s refused to participate on numerous occasions in ceasefire talks that we’ve sought to convene,” Blinken said.

“And together with the RSF, it’s caused what is the world’s worst humanitarian crisis that people are suffering through every day.”

Blinken  also voiced hope that the incoming administration of President-elect Donald Trump, who takes office on Monday, would keep trying to end the conflict.

“It is for me, yes, another real regret that when it comes to Sudan, we haven’t been able, on our watch, to get to that day of success,” he said.

Speaking earlier on Thursday, al-Burhan was defiant about the prospect that he might be targeted.

Kaja Kallas, the European Union’s foreign policy chief, said on Sunday that the foreign ministers would convene in Brussels on January 27 to probe how the 27-member bloc might approach the issue.

In Riyadh, she told reporters that the EU wants to see an inclusive government in Syria which shows no signs of “radicalisation” and also respects the rights of women and other groups. The bloc can quickly reverse any openings on the issue of sanctions, she stressed.

After Sunday’s talks concluded in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister called for the lifting of sanctions on Syria.

“We stressed the importance of lifting unilateral and international sanctions imposed on Syria, as their continuation hinders the aspirations of the Syrian people to achieve development and reconstruction,” Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud said.

Syria’s new Foreign Minister Asaad Hassan al-Shaibani, who has repeatedly called for the removal of decades-old sanctions, attended the talks, alongside foreign ministers from the region including Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon and Turkiye.

The talks also saw the participation of United States Undersecretary of State John Bass, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock and British Foreign Secretary David Lammy.

A communique released by the Saudi foreign ministry on Sunday evening reiterated calls for sanctions to be lifted in order to support the rebuilding of Syria, and expressed concern over Israel’s incursions into the occupied Golan Heights.

“[Steps were discussed to] support the brotherly Syrian people and provide them with all aid and support at this important stage in their history, and helping them rebuild Syria as a unified, independent, safe Arab state for all its citizens, with no place for terrorism, no breach of its sovereignty, and no attack on its territorial integrity,” it read.

Reporting from Damascus, Al Jazeera said the “substantial” Riyadh diplomatic meeting was more focused on sanctions than a December 14 meeting in Jordan’s Aqaba, which was mostly dealing with ensuring entry of humanitarian aid as Syrians feel the adverse effects.

“These sanctions that have been in place for so long have made it very difficult to import or export raw goods,” he said.

“That means prices are always sky-high when it comes to essential goods, including food and medicines. It also means Syrians can’t bring in much fuel, so there are power outages all the time.”

The conference comes as Syria’s new administration, led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), has urged the lifting of sanctions by the West to help international funding flow to Damascus.

Analyst Rob Geist Pinfold says the Biden administration and European countries are “moving in the direction the HTS wants them to go in terms of removing sanctions, or at least freezing sanctions”.

“The US has said they will freeze sanctions on things like paying public sector workers or providing energy supplies, for example, and that’s critical,” Pinfold, a lecturer at King’s College London, told Al Jazeera.

“Many of those sanctions were secondary sanctions – meaning that it wasn’t just US citizens or businesses that will be sanctioned for doing business with Syria, but also other countries or third parties as well.”

The US on Monday issued a sanctions exemption for transactions with governing institutions in Syria for six months after the end of al-Assad’s rule to try to ease the flow of humanitarian assistance.

Germany, Italy and France have in recent days pushed for EU sanctions on Syria to be relaxed, but a final decision could only come from the entire bloc.

Possible priorities for relief include “those sanctions that are hindering the building up of a country, access to banking services and all these things”, the EU’s Kallas further told reporters in Riyadh.

Germany’s Baerbock said on Sunday that sanctions against allies of al-Assad, who “committed serious crimes” during the Syrian war, must remain in place.

“But, Germany proposes to take a smart approach to sanctions, providing relief for the Syrian population. Syrians now need a quick dividend from the transition of power,” she added.

A lightning rebel offensive overthrew al-Assad on December 8 and the HTS, which led the advance, set up a caretaker government that appointed al-Shaibani as foreign minister.

The new administration is anxious to get the sanctions lifted because it has to show people that the revolution has improved their lives, according to Galip Dalay, senior consulting fellow at the London-based Chatham House.

He told Al Jazeera that until the government can deliver on points emphasised by the Western parties, “any assistance will be quite limited in scope and mostly confined to the humanitarian aspect.

“What Syria needs is much beyond that and consists of massive reconstruction. So far, we don’t see the Western actors showing full commitment before they see some steps in Syria.”

The Riyadh meeting was the first to include Syria’s new rulers and top Western officials and was led by Saudi Arabia.

It followed a meeting of top diplomats from the US, the United Kingdom, France, Germany and the EU held in Rome on Thursday and a landmark meeting Jordan hosted in December, where regional players signalled concerns over Syria’s new rulers and what they need to do to get international recognition.

The measures target more than 200 entities and individuals ranging from traders and officials to insurance companies, as well as hundreds of oil tankers.

In a first since Moscow’s all-out invasion of Ukraine, the UK will join the US in directly sanctioning energy companies Gazprom Neft and Surgutneftegas.

“Taking on Russian oil companies will drain Russia’s war chest – and every ruble we take from Putin’s hands helps save Ukrainian lives,” said Foreign Secretary David Lammy.

Some of the measures announced by the US Treasury on Friday will be put into law, meaning the incoming Trump administration will need to involve Congress if it wants to lift them.Washington is also moving to severely limit who can legally purchase Russian energy, and going after what it called Moscow’s “shadow fleet” of vessels that ship oil around the world.

US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said the actions were “ratcheting up the sanctions risk associated with Russia’s oil trade, including shipping and financial facilitation in support of Russia’s oil exports.”

President Joe Biden said Russian leader Vladimir Putin was in “tough shape”, adding that “it’s really important that he not have any breathing room to continue to do the god-awful things he continues to do.”

“It is probable that gas prices [in the United States] could increase as much as three or four cents a gallon,” said the president.

But, he added, the measures were likely to “have profound effect on the growth of the Russian economy”.

Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelensky, thanked the US for what he called its “bipartisan support”.

Since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, a price cap on oil has been among the key measures designed to curb Russia’s energy exports.

But as Olga Khakova from the Atlantic Council’s Global Energy Centre explained, its effectiveness was “diluted” because it was also trying to avoid the volume of Russian oil in the market dropping.

This was due to concerns about the impact reduced supply would have on the global economy.

But experts said the oil market was now in a healthier position.

“US oil production (and exports) are at record levels and rising, and therefore the price impact of taking Russian oil off the market, the objective of today’s sanctions, will be attenuated,” said Daniel Fried, a distinguished fellow at the Atlantic Council.

“The US government has gone after the Russian oil sector in a big way, intending to deal what may turn out to be a body blow,” Fried added.

John Herbst, a former US ambassador to Ukraine, said while the steps were “excellent”, their implementation would be critical.

“Which means that it is the Trump administration that will determine if these measures do in fact put pressure on the Russian economy,” he said.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Ivanishvili and his party had “derailed Georgia’s Euro-Atlantic future”, leaving it vulnerable to Russia.

Ivanishvilli is not an elected official but he has been described as the “honorary chairman” of Georgian Dream, which has spent 12 years in power.

The party claimed victory in recent elections amid allegations of fraud and swiftly announced the suspension of EU accession talks, sparking widespread protests.

Opposition MPs have been boycotting the new parliament, alleging fraud.

The inauguration of a new president – former Manchester City footballer Mikheil Kavelashvili of the People’s Power party, who is seen as a Georgian Dream ally – is scheduled for two days’ time.

But outgoing president Salome Zurabishvili, who is strongly pro-European, has said she will not step down until new elections are held.

“We strongly condemn Georgian Dream’s actions under Ivanishvili’s leadership, including its ongoing and violent repression of Georgian citizens, protestors, members of the media, human rights activists, and opposition figures,” a statement from Blinken said.

Blinken accused Georgian Dream of “ongoing and violent repression” of Georgian citizens, protestors, journalists, rights activists and opposition figures”, and said the party’s actions had “curbed the exercise of fundamental freedoms”.

“The result has left Georgia vulnerable to Russia, which continues to occupy more than 20% of Georgia’s territory,” he said.

US state department spokesperson Matthew Miller described Ivanishvili as the “honorary chairman” of Georgian Dream.

In November Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze said his government would not seek EU accession talks until 2028, triggering ongoing protests.

Riot police have used tear gas and water cannon against protesters, who have fought back by throwing fireworks and stones.

The UK has sanctioned five other senior Georgian officials, including the interior minister, for their roles in suppressing pro-European protests.

Last month, the European Parliament backed a resolution describing the election as the latest stage in Georgia’s “worsening democratic crisis”.

It expressed particular concern about reports of voter intimidation, vote-buying and manipulation, and harassment of observers.

The individuals will face travel bans and asset freezes for “violating human rights”, the Foreign Office said, adding that the sanctions were imposed in coordination with the US.

Foreign Secretary David Lammy said: “The shocking violence inflicted upon protestors, opposition leaders and journalists is an egregious attack on democracy.”

The country has seen months of violent clashes between protesters and police since parliamentary elections held in October, most recently over the government’s decision to pause EU accession talks.

The UK has already paused the annual Wardrop Dialogue strategic dialogue and restricted defence cooperation with Georgia.

The announcement comes days after former Manchester City footballer Mikheil Kavelashvili was appointed the country’s president.Kavelashvili is viewed as an ally of the anti-Western ruling party, in contrast to the strongly pro-European incumbent Salome Zourabichvili.

Zourabichvili has pledged not to leave office when her term ends on 29 December, saying her successor was chosen illegitimately.

Protests against Georgian Dream began immediately after parliamentary elections in October elections, but they intensified at the end of November when the government announced it was putting EU accession negotiations on hold until 2028.

Four out of every five voters are said to back joining the EU, a goal inscribed in the constitution.The main avenue outside parliament has been regularly filled with protesters draped in EU flags, demanding new elections.

Demonstrators using fireworks have been met with a harsh response from police, who have used batons, tear gas, rubber bullets, and water cannons to disperse protesters.

Both the EU and US have condemned the government for democratic backsliding. More than 460 people have been detained across Georgia over the past two weeks, according to Transparency International.

More than 300 have been ill-treated or tortured, the organisation says, including dozens of members of the media. Last weekend, thugs were filmed attacking a TV reporter and cameraman.

Protesters have called on the international community to impose sanctions on top government officials.

Pro-government groups have also waged a campaign of harassment towards civil society activists, beating them outside homes, and carrying out arbitrary arrests.

Kamlesh Pattni, and four others including his wife and brother-in-law, will have their assets frozen, a statement from the UK Foreign and Commonwealth and Development Office read.

He was implicated in one of Kenya’s biggest corruption scandals, Goldenberg, which is believed to have cost the country at least $600m (£470m). He has since faced allegations of involvement in the illicit gold trade in Zimbabwe, which he has previously denied.

“Illicit gold is an assault on the legitimate trade of a valuable commodity, fuelling corruption, undermining the rule of law, and entrenching human rights abuses such as child labour,” read the UK statement.

It goes to say that Russia uses illegal gold to fund its war in Ukraine.

“Russia uses the illicit gold trade to launder money and evade sanctions, and in doing so bolsters [President Vladimir] Putin’s war efforts.

“The UK and other Western countries banned the import of Russian gold in 2022 to stop Moscow’s ability to fund the war.

The UK said the sanctions were meant to “disrupt and deter” the business dealings of Pattni.He was allegedly one of the key architects of the Goldenberg scandal – a major gold and currency fraud in the 1990s which almost bankrupted Kenya and involved senior members of Kenya’s government.

He faced a trial in 2006 for his alleged role in the scheme, but proceedings collapsed. Pattni later became a self-proclaimed pastor.According to the US Treasury, Pattni was friends with former Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe and used this relationship to make money by exploiting the country’s natural resources.

“This fraudulent scheme robbed Zimbabwe’s citizens of the benefit of those natural resources while enriching corrupt government officials and criminal actors,” it read.

Pattni was implicated in Al-Jazeera’s explosive investigation into the “gold mafia” in Zimbabwe. He denied any involvement in money laundering or gold smuggling.

The US Treasury said Pattni’s illegal network spanned multiple countries.The announcement comes as the UK government outlined a new programme to help tackle global corruption.