The Prosecutor’s Office plans to question ex-director of opposition minded TV channel Rustavi 2 for alleged abuse of power during his term.
Official charges have not yet been brought against former director Nika Gvaramia, who will be asked to provide explanations of certain financial transactions which a former shareholder says were meant to bankrupt Rustavi 2.
The court has issued an order to seize documents and electronic information from Inter Media and Inter Media Plus, which served as Rustavi 2 contractor companies.
A complaint lodged by former nine per cent shareholder Nino Nizharadze alleged that Rustavi 2 and Intermedia signed a deal, by means of which Nika Gvaramia intended to accumulate Rustavi 2’s assets to open a new channel, as he knew that the European Court of Human Rights would effectively allow the return of 100 per cent of shares to Khalvashi.
An ECHR ruling on July 18 effectively allowed the return of 100 per cent of the channel’s shares to its former owner Kibar Khalvashi, who argued that Rustavi 2 was illegally seized from him by the former United National Movement (UNM) government in 2006.
Later, he appointed his lawyer Paata Salia as the channel’s director – Salia in turn has said that Rustavi 2 is facing financial issues.
Nika Gvaramia has objected to the launch of the investigation, saying the Prosecutor’s Office launched the probe ‘into non-existent events.’