Georgian President Saakashvili accused of using state funds for Botox

Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili was accused Friday of using state money to fund Botox treatments in New York, according to his political opponents, dpa reports.

Visits to a New York clinic in February 2009 and September 2011 cost the country 11,400 dollars, parliamentarian Irina Imerlishvili of the governing Georgian Dream party said, confirming reports from private broadcaster Imedi TV.
The broadcaster based its story on secret documents from the president's office.

Botox treatments are used to erase wrinkles and other lines by injecting toxins that paralyse facial muscles.
"The face of our president shows no signs of Botox," countered Givi Targamdze of Saakashvili's opposition United National Movement.

Saakashvili's party lost the 2012 elections to Georgian Dream, but his term as president continues until October. The two parties ran a bitter contest for the legislature, and several members of Saakashvili's side have not only found themselves now in the opposition but also under investigation for alleged wrongdoing.