Ex-director general of TV channel Rustavi 2 Gvaramia charged with misspending of funds
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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.
Earlier in August Gvaramia was charged with abuse of power, causing a serious financial damage to the opposition-minded channel.
Two other individuals will be charged with him on the case.
Gvaramia says that the charges “are invented,” and “I am happy to live in a democratic country.”
The Prosecutor’s Office reports that in January 2015 Gvaramia signed an agreement with LTD Intermedia+, on behalf of Rustavi 2, to allow the LTD place ads on the channel.
Intermedia 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.
Gvaramia has been the director of Rustavi since since 2012. Photo: Nino Alavidze/Agenda.ge.
The Prosecutor’s Office stated that after former owner of Rustavi 2 Kibar Khalvashi filed a lawsuit to regain his shares back in August 2015, Gvaramia, a Financial Director of Rustavi 2 Kakhaber Damenia and head of Intermedia + Zurab Iashvili agreed to transfer fewer money to Rustavi 2.
Through the step the channel suffered 6,763,509 GEL ($2.3 million) loss,” the Prosecutor’s Office said.
The Prosecutor’s Office stated that in exchange for the “benefit for Intermedia” Gvaramia received two flats in Tbilisi from the LTD head Iashvili.
The Prosecutor’s Office reports that to “conceal the illegality regarding the deal and the flats,” Gvaramia and Iashvili fabricated documents.
The Prosecutor’s Office reports that Damenia will be charged with misspending of funds, while Iashvili will face charged for bribery and fabrication of documents.
The European Court of Human Rights ruling allowed the return of 100 per cent of Rustavi 2 shares to its former owner Khalvashi in mid-July, who argued that Rustavi 2 was illegally seized from him by the former United National Movement (UNM) government in 2006.
Gvaramia became a director of Rustavi 2, one of the most influential TV channels in Georgia founded in 1993, in 2012 and was promoted to the position of director general in 2014.
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 former Director General of opposition-minded TV channel Rustavi 2, Nika Gvaramia, has been charged with abuse of power. The Georgian Prosecutor’s Office announced yesterday that due to Gvaramia’s actions Rustavi 2 suffered losses of 6,763,510 GEL (about $2,308,365/€2,062,045).
The new owner of Rustavi 2 Kibar Khalvashi, who was given 100 per cent of the company’s shares on July 18, has met with founders of the channel David Dvali and Jarji Akimidze earlier today and offered them 40 per cent of the shares of the channel. Both Khalvashi and the founders say that the channel was illegally seized from them at different times under the United National Movement leadership.
The new owner of Rustavi 2 Kibar Khalvashi, who has been given 100 per cent of the shares of the television channel, has submitted his signature for examination to the Tbilisi Levan Samkharauli Forensic Bureau earlier today to end allegations of former Defence Minister Irakli Okruashvili against him.
Former Deputy Economy Minister under the United National Movement government Kakha Damenia has been found guilty for illegal privatization of a cultural heritage monument and 995 square meters of land belonging to Dadiani Garden and Palace located in Georgia’s western Zugdidi municipality.
Tbilisi City Court has allowed the seizure of real estate of Rustavi 2 TV channel, according to the demand of the founders of the channel David Dvali and Jarji Akimidze. Back in 2019 the same court ruled that 60 per cent of shares of the TV channel be frozen after the founders filed a lawsuit against current owner Kibal Khalvashi. Khalvashi, who stated his shares were illegally confiscated under the United National Movement leadership back in 2006, won the ownership dispute in the European Court of Human Rights in July 2019.
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 misspending of funds, bribery and fabrication of documents after the Rustavi 2 was returned to its former owner Kibar Khalvashi in July 2019.
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.
The ruling Georgian Dream (GD) mayoral candidates in Kareli and Chiatura regions, Zaza Guliashvili and Givi Modebadze, have filed a lawsuit in Tbilisi City Court against the opposition-minded Mtavari-Arkhi TV channel and its head Nika Gvaramia for spreading fake information about them.
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.’