On the eve of contentious parliamentary elections in Georgia, a prominent watchdog group has released a report documenting dozens of “suspicious tenders and simplified procurements” that appear to benefit individuals connected to the incumbent Georgian Dream party and its honorary chairman, billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili.

The report published by Transparency International Georgia and titled, Corruption Map: Alleged cases of corruption are on the rise across various regions of Georgia, provides summaries of government contracts over the past decade worth 3.28 billion Georgian lari (about $1.2 billion USD) that were obtained by firms linked to public officials, many of which have ties to Georgian Dream. Over 1.3 billion GEL-worth (almost $500 million) in contracts were handed out just in 2024.

Transparency International “has officially submitted these findings to the relevant state authorities, urging action on the potential corruption revealed in these procurements,” the report says.

Whether or not officials take any action to investigate the group’s findings may depend on the outcome of the parliamentary elections on October 26. Both Georgian Dream and a constellation of opposition parties have expressed confidence that their respective sides will form the next government. The report suggests that the incumbents have a financial interest in holding on to power, fanning concerns about attempts to manipulate the election results.

A familiar name pops up throughout the report: Bidzina Ivanishvili. Associates and family members of Georgian Dream’s billionaire founder are shown to have benefited from supposedly sweetheart deals.

In Imereti, for example, a relative of Ivanishvili’s sister has received more than 38 million GEL ($14 million) in state procurement contracts since 2014, Transparency International found. In Samtskhe-Javakheti, a company owned by a former regional police official and head of security at one of Ivanishvili’s residences received almost 240,000 GEL (about $90,000) in procurements in 2020 alone.

The list goes on. Georgian Dream officials, their family members, and their business associates feature prominently throughout.

Ivanishvili’s personal wealth has been the subject of controversy and condemnation as critics claim the political boss has manipulated the country’s legal framework to secure his personal fortune. Changes to the Georgian tax code earlier this year made it easier to move dark money into the country and could help officials – including Ivanishvili – to skirt sanctions, opposition political figures assert.

Ivanishvili’s business connections outside of Georgia have also sparked controversy. In August, the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project revealed that a company linked to him owns a large plot of land in Moscow, where his wife also owns a home and land.