Georgia cracks down on foreign-funded groups with new agent legislation

Georgia has officially enacted a new Foreign Agents Registration Act, modelled precisely on the US Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA).

Unlike the previously adopted and widely protested Law on the Transparency of Foreign Influence in 2024, this new legislation includes criminal penalties of up to five years in prison and applies to both organisations and individuals, Caliber.Az reports via Georgian media.

Oversight and enforcement of the law will be handled by the Anti-Corruption Bureau of Georgia.

Under the provisions of the act, any person, organisation, or group of individuals will be classified as a foreign agent if their activities in Georgia serve the interests of a foreign state or are funded from abroad. The law specifically extends to media outlets as well.

Those identified as falling under the law’s criteria are required to notify the Anti-Corruption Bureau within 10 days of their activities qualifying them as foreign agents.

According to Georgian authorities, the aim of the law is to strengthen measures against foreign-funded groups allegedly attempting to destabilise the country. Officials have repeatedly pointed to foreign-financed NGOs as playing a significant role in what they describe as attempted revolutions in recent years.

By Tamilla Hasanova