On October 26, the Facebook page Pirveli Ambebi published a video with the description: “Officially, Bidzina Ivanishvili’s helicopter took off from the palace and headed to Moscow with his family – exclusive footage directly from the residence; let’s all share this; the oligarch is preparing for defeat.”
The disseminated footage is old and does not show Ivanishvili leaving the country. In reality, the footage is from 2021 and captures Ivanishvili’s return to Tbilisi. Today, Bidzina Ivanishvili was present with his family at a polling station, where he cast his vote.
This video has circulated in the past as well. It was shared with a similar claim on October 1-2, 2021, the day of Georgia’s municipal elections, suggesting that Ivanishvili had left the country. The footage of the helicopter landing near Ivanishvili’s Sololaki residence, filmed from a different angle, was also aired by TV Pirveli two days before October 1, with the broadcaster reporting that it depicted Ivanishvili’s return to Tbilisi before the elections. Currently, no footage of Ivanishvili leaving the country has appeared in Georgian media, but a video showing him voting with his family has been published.
It’s worth noting that Bidzina Ivanishvili owns several helicopters and frequently travels using them. In January 2021, TV Mtavari Channel reported that the billionaire owned 14 helicopters.
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