MEGOBARI Act

In Plain Language

This bill requires the President to ban certain foreign officials and people involved in corruption from entering the United States and can freeze their property if they're undermining Georgia's security or stability. It specifically targets Georgian government officials and politicians involved in blocking Georgia's path toward joining NATO and the European Union, as well as their family members who benefited from their actions. The President can also sanction anyone engaged in significant corruption in Georgia or acts to destabilize the country.

Official Congressional Research Service summary

Mobilizing and Enhancing Georgia’s Options for Building Accountability, Resilience, and Independence Act or the MEGOBARI ActThis bill requires the President to impose sanctions on certain foreign persons, including Georgian government officials, who are undermining Georgia's security or stability.Specifically, the bill requires the President to impose visa-blocking sanctions and authorizes the President to impose property-blocking sanctions on any foreign person the President determines is involved with actions or policies to undermine Georgia's security or stability. Immediate family members of a sanctioned individual are also subject to these sanctions if they benefited from the sanctioned individual's conduct. The bill also requires the President to impose visa-blocking sanctions on the following foreign persons if the President determines such persons knowingly engaged in significant acts of corruption or acts of violence or intimidation in relation to the blocking of Euro-Atlantic integration in Georgia: any individual who served as a member of the Georgian parliament or as a senior official of a Georgian political party on or after January 1, 2014;any individual who is serving as an official in a leadership position on behalf of the Georgian government; andany immediate family member of such officials who benefited from their conduct.Additionally, for the purpose of potential imposition of sanctions under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, the President must determine whether there are foreign persons who, on or after the bill's enactment, have engaged in (1) significant corruption in Georgia, or (2) acts to undermine Georgia's security or stability.