Georgia plans to introduce fines for receiving foreign grants without govt's consent

TBILISI. April 7 (Interfax) - The ruling Georgian Dream party has submitted a bill to parliament under which one would have to obtain the consent by the government or an authorized person appointed by the government to receive foreign grants in Georgia.

Under the bill, the anti-corruption bureau will supervise the issuance and receipt of grants. Acceptance of a prohibited grant will result in a fine for the recipient, which will be twice the amount of the corresponding grant, Georgian Dream said in a statement.

At the same time, the bill sets forth exceptions. In particular, the government's consent is not required for international grants being allocated to sports federations, committees and associations, individual scholarships for secondary and higher education and scientific work outside Georgia.

The parliament will consider the bill in an accelerated procedure.