TBILISI. Feb 8 (Interfax) - The family of former Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili paid $917,177 to the Akerman U.S. lobbying law firm for its legal services to have Saakashvili released from prison, Georgian media said, citing a filing with the U.S. Department of Justice.
The contract with Akerman was signed in July 2022 by Saakashvili's mother Giuli Alasania. According to media reports, over $350,000 were paid for the medical services alone provided to Saakashvili by U.S. doctors, who arrived in Tbilisi last fall to diagnose his condition.
Alasania confirmed to journalists that she had signed a contract with the Akerman law firm.
"I did not count, but it was quite a solid sum. We hired this law company, as well as the doctors, who came to Georgia and did the necessary work there. By the way, three of them provided their services free of charge," she said.
Meanwhile, MPs from the Georgian Dream ruling party have called on the U.S. Department of the Treasury to look into how Saakashvili's family came into possession of such a large amount.
"The question that everyone has is where did Saakashvili's family get this sum of money from? I call on the U.S. Department of the Treasury to look into the availability of such large funds in Saakashvili's family," Georgian parliamentarian Eka Sepashvili said.
The Tbilisi City Court on February 6 ordered Saakashvili to remain in custody and rejected his defense team's arguments, based on the foreign doctors' diagnoses that the ex-president is seriously ill and is in need of medical treatment abroad.