Omega case: Prosecutor’s Office says audio recordings have been edited

The Georgian Chief Prosecutor’s Office says that the audio recordings in which representatives of the Omega Group business corporation speak about pressure on business from the government have been edited.

The Prosecutor’s Office reported that the Tbilisi Forensic Bureau’s conclusion on the four audio recordings released by Rustavi 2 TV channel last month reads that the recordings are obviously “non-authentic”

An investigation is in progress over the Omega case,” the Prosecutor’s Office stated.

Former minister of sport and mediator in the Omega Group’s negotiations with the government Levan Kipiani said on 3 October that  the audio recordings broadcast by Rustavi 2 “were staged”.

Kipiani says he and the founder of Omega Group, Zaza Okuashvili, recorded the fake audio tracks in the summer of 2018 to deliberately discredit the government.

Kipiani has come forward in the wake of Okuashvili’s allegations of business corruption against the government.

Kipiani claims in the summer of 2018 Okuashvili came to him and said that he was having problems with foreign business partners, who would allow him to repay his debts on a longer schedule if he could show that he was subject to government pressure.

The Georgian Dream government says that Okuashvili’s goal  was to avoid his financial obligations which amounts to 50 million GEL to the state budget and 84 million GEL to the Bank of Georgia.

Read more about the Omega Case here.