Crime Group Funded Anti-Georgia Rallies, Report Says - WSJ.com

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Crime Group Funded Anti-Georgia Rallies, Report Says - WSJ.com: "Austrian police are investigating evidence that an organized-crime group with operations across much of Europe funded protests last year in Georgia that were aimed at toppling the country's president, Mikheil Saakashvili.
According to a report prepared for prosecutors in early 2010 by Vienna police and reviewed by The Wall Street Journal, the alleged crime organization is based in Georgia and funds itself through theft, blackmail and money laundering, primarily in Western Europe.

Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili during his state of the nation address to parliament in Tbilisi in February.The report alleges that an Austria-based Georgian businessman raised money that was used to finance protests in early 2009.
In April 2009, opposition demonstrators held protests in Georgia's capital, Tbilisi, that lasted days and were attended by tens of thousands of people. The report doesn't say whether investigators believe those were the same as the protests it alleges the Georgian group was planning.
The group's goal in attempting to remove Mr. Saakashvili's government was to 'use corruption and intimidation to exert influence over the Georgian economy and politics in order to shield itself from the threat of criminal prosecution' in Georgia, the report said.
Tbilisi's April 2009 protests wrapped up peacefully, with Mr. Saakashvili saying that democracy comes with demonstrations. Strengthening democracy will be on the agenda next week, when Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is due to visit Georgia."