Rustavi 2 case: Prosecutor claims Ex-head Gvaramia’s guilt in misuse of funds proved by accountant’s testimony
Currently, Nika Gvaramia is the director of the opposition-minded TV channel Mtavari Arkhi which he founded after he left Rustavi 2. Photo: Mtavari.tv.
Tweet 
Share
Georgian prosecutor Zviad Gubeladze who is working on Rustavi 2 case says that the ex-head of the TV channel Nika Gvaramia’s guilt in the case of the misuse of the TV station's funds back in 2015 is proved by the testimony of the company’s accountant.
Former director general of Rustavi 2 Nika Gvaramia along with former financial director of the TV company Kakhaber Damenia and head of LTD Intermedia Plus Zurab Iashvili were charged with misuse of funds, bribery and fabrication of documents after the Rustavi 2 was returned to its former owner Kibar Khalvashi in July 2019.
Intermedia Plus based on the agreement with Rustavi 2 was obliged to transfer 90-95 per cent of the profit gained from commercials to Rustavi 2 and retain only the remaining 10 or five per cent for its service.
Gubeladze states that Rustavi 2’s accountant saw signs of a possible crime after studying the TV station’s revenues and informed the prosecutor about it.
The testimony of the mentioned witness proves that indeed, in 2015, the income of Rustavi 2 was radically reduced by several million, this period exactly coincides with (period of) the crime,” said Gubeladze.
The court ruled 40,000 GEL bail for Gvaramia and 50,000 GEL bail for Damenia and Iashvili back in 2019-2020.
Nika Gvaramia was the director of Rustavi 2 for two years from 2012 while from 2014 he became director general of the company.
He was forced to leave the position after the verdict of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) was ruled in favour of former Rustavi 2's owner Khalvashi in late July 2019.
Rustavi 2 was established in 1994 by three shareholders: David Dvali, Jarji Akimidze and Erosi Kitsmarishvili.
Transparency International Georgia (TI Georgia) reported that only between 2004 and 2012 Rustavi 2 changed ownership about 20 times.
The Georgian revenue service has started inspecting the opposition-minded TV channel Mtavari Arkhi’s advertising company following the accusations of ruling party head Irakli Kobakhidze that three TV stations are funded with ‘black money.’ Head and founder of Mtavari Arkhi Nika Gvaramia linked the launch of the investigation to an attempt to falsify upcoming elections and noted that other media outlets face the same threat.
Former Director General of Rustavi 2 Nika Gvaramia, who previously served as the country’s minister of justice, has been summoned to the Prosecutor’s Office to be charged with the misspending of the funds of the channel which was returned to its former owner in July.
Bail has been set at 40,000 GEL for former director general of opposition-minded TV channel Rustavi 2, Nika Gvaramia, who stands accused of abuse of power during his time in the position. Gvaramia also has been banned from leaving the country without the consent of prosecutors, who earlier had demanded bail be set at 80,000 GEL.
The Georgian Public Registry Agency has registered the shares of Rustavi 2 in the name of its former owner Kibar Khalvashi after today’s verdict of the European Court of Human Rights. Khalvashi’s lawyer addressed the agency to introduce changes in the Rustavi 2 registration document as the ECHR upheld the verdicts of the Georgians courts and allowed the return of 100 percent of shares of the channel to Khalvashi.
The Georgian State Security Service (SSS) has told director general of the opposition-minded Mtavari Arkhi channel, Nika Gvaramia, a former official under the United National Movement (UNM) government, to ‘strengthen personal security’ as allegedly a hit has been put out against him. Deputy Head of the Counterterrorism Centre of the SSS Bacha Mgeladze stated earlier today that along with Gvaramia, one other journalist has received a similar warning and that the agency is investigating the case.
Tbilisi City Court has rejected the claim of two founders of Rustavi 2 TV, David Dvali and Jarji Akimidze, against the channel’s current owner to regain 60% of the company's shares. After today’s trial one of the founders Jarji Akimidze said that he was ‘shocked’ by the verdict, stating that it ‘will definitely be appealed.’
Mikheil Sarjveladze, the Chairman of the Georgian Parliamentary Committee on Human Rights, on Monday rejected claims of political persecution in the sentencing of Nika Gvaramia, the founder of Mtavari Arkhi channel and former Director of Rustavi 2 channel, by the Tbilisi City Court on charges of embezzlement, commercial bribery, forgery and money laundering.
Tbilisi City Court on Monday sentenced Nika Gvaramia, the founder of Mtavari Arkhi channel and former Director of Rustavi 2 channel, to 3.6 years in prison on charges of embezzlement, commercial bribery, forgery and money laundering in a case relating to his time in the latter media outlet.
The Prosecutor’s Office of Georgia has said it will appeal the Tbilisi City Court’s decision to change the qualification in its sentencing of Nika Gvaramia, the founder of the Mtavari Arkhi channel and former General Director of the Rustavi 2 channel, after the delivery of the verdict on Monday.
The United States embassy in Tbilisi on Wednesday reiterated its “deep concern” over the judgement of the Tbilisi court of appeals which upheld the verdict of the Tbilisi city court against Nika Gvaramia, the imprisoned head of the Mtavari Arkhi TV channel, and kept him in imprisonment for charges of having caused damage through commercial deals to Rustavi 2 channel he led in 2015 and 2019.