UNM finds nothing illegal in the Patarkatsishvili family agreement

Members of the United National Movement state there is nothing illegal in the settlement agreement signed by the Patarkatsishvili's family and say the Justice Ministry statement is "speculation".

A top secret document about Georgian television company Media Holding Imedi and other assets of late Badri (Arkadi) Patarkatsishvili, who was one of the richest men in Georgia, was revealed by the Ministry of Justice yesterday. Minister As Tea Tsulukiani said the agreement reflected a model used by the former government to "fight against business.

"Patarkatsishvilis family filed a complaint with the Court of Arbitration demanding 400 million USD compensation. This amount would be harmful to the state budget and citizens, so the government decided to reduce the damage and reach an agreement with the family. A decision was made and some companies were handed over to the family, UNMs Akaki Minashvili argued.

Asked why the ordinary agreement was classified as top secret, another representative of the former ruling party, David Darchiashvili, argued it was the family's desire to keep the document confidential.

"The only thing the document says is that the family had a claim against the state in the International Arbitrary Court. The state offered a compromise, the family agreed to receive some property and debt write-off occurred," he said.  

"The agreement was not about Imedi TV particularly. The issue of the agreement surrounded the dispute between the family and the state, Darchiashvili claimed.

Zurab Abashidze of the Georgian Dream coalition questioned whether the state budget would in fact lose 400 million USD, as the UNM said the truth would be on the former governments side in a legal case. He argued the family demanded the government return Imedi TV and Mtatsminda Park or pay 400 million USD compensation, and as a result, the government started negotiations, which signified that they knew they would lose in court.  

"Each governmental body of the former government was involved in the process of seizure Patarkatsishvilis business in order to become its only owner, Abashidze said.

The document outlined an agreement between the owners of TV Imedi, Badri (Arkadi) Patarkatsishvilis family, and the previous government in 2011. The Governmental parties which signed the agreement are:

• The Ministry of Justice of Georgia
• The Office of the General Prosecutor
• The Ministry of Internal Affairs of Geoergia
• The Constitutional Security Department
• The Financial Police
• The Taxation Department (now Revenue Service of Georgia )
• The National Communications Commission of Georgia
• The Tbilisi Municipality

Badri (Arkadi) Patarkatsishvili was one of the richest men in Georgia. He founded Media Holding Imedi in 2001.

After Patarkatsishvili's death in 2008, his family appealed to the Court of Arbitration to recover the ownership of TV Imedi. After that, the government negotiated with the businessmans family, Tsulukiani stated.

According to the agreement, several factories in Georgia should have returned to Patarkatsishvilis family and in return, the family agreed to relinquish ownership of Media Holding Imedi and Mtatsminda Park, as well as stop the court trial.

In the agreement, The Patarkatsishvili family confirmed: "They have no further claims in relation to Imedi TV and Mtatsminda Park against the current owner of them, or against the Georgian Parties of the agreement, or against any of Georgias organs, agencies, agents or representatives. The Georgian parties listed above, in turn, offered a tax Compromise envisaging that the Georgian parties would undertake to waive to the fullest extent permitted by Georgian law the right to recover any outstanding taxes to the Georgian government by particular companies".

"The Georgian Parties further undertake to provide all administrative assistance within their power in completing the liquidation of the companies listed in Appendinx A, reads the agreement.

The mentioned appendix A contained more than ten companies including Standard Capital Georgia LLC, Financial Investment Management Company LLC, Investment Fund Standard Capital Georgia, JSC Maudi, Lynx LLC and Mtstsminda Lynx LLC, Georgian Telecom LLC, Dixy Development Georgia LLC, and Iberiatel.

Also, the agreement said that all claims in the Arbitration should be withdrawn with prejudice. On the family's side of the argument, the wife of late Bardi (Arkadi) Patarkatsishvili and Ina Gudavadze should immediately write to the tribunal appointed in the Arbitration, to advise the authorities the dispute had been settled, withdraw the Arbitration and all claims irrevocably and with prejudice, and advise that she and the Georgian Parties would each bear half of the arbitrators fees and administrative costs in relation to the Arbitration.

The agreement was signed by owners Badri (Arkadi) Patarkatsishvili's mother Natela, daughter Lya Patarkatsishvili, wife Ina Gudavadze and the former Deputy Minister of Justice Tina Burjaliani from the States side.

Today, the Patarkatsishvilis family lawyer Lasha Birkaia stated that the majority of the terms in the agreement were not honored by the government, including returning the companies to Patarkatsishvilis family.

The Chief Prosecutors Office is still investigating the TV Imedi case.  

According to the Office, from 2007 to 2012, under the orders of the government, ownership of the TV channel changed multiple times between local businessmen and offshore companies in order to mislead. As a result, there are multiple documents that show discrepancies and separate violations by different high officials.