Ex-director of Rustavi 2 TV Gvaramia faces additional charges regarding channel’s funds

Former Director-General of Rustavi 2 Nika Gvaramia has been summoned by the Georgian Chief Prosecutor’s Office to be officially charged later today. Photo: Nodar Ladaria. 

Agenda.ge, 01 Nov 2019 - 16:13, Tbilisi,Georgia

Ex-Director General of Rustavi 2 TV channel, Georgia’s former minister of justice and education, Nika Gvaramia will face additional charges regarding the funds of the TV channel he used to head. 

The Georgian Chief Prosecutor’s Office has stated earlier today that Gvaramia is expected at 7 p.m. today to be charged with concealment of property with the use of a fraudulent transaction.  

In August 2019, shortly after Rustavi 2 was returned to its former owner Kibar Khalvashi by the European Court of Human Rights, Gvaramia was charged with abuse of authority, causing 6,763,510 GEL (about $2,308,365/€2,062,045) damage to the channel.

Gvaramia, who founded Mtavari Arkhi TV after his dismissal from Rustavi 2, is on 40,000 GEL bail now. 

In September Gvaramia faced the second charge on the case– the misspending of funds with the use of official authorities.

Nino Nizharadze, a former, nine per cent shareholder of Rustavi 2, addressed the Georgian Chief Prosecutor’s Office in early July, before the channel was returned to Khalvashi, to launch an investigation against Gvaramia.

Nizharadze claimed that Gvaramia expected that the European Court would return Rustavi 2 to Khalvashi and with the help of his accomplices he [Gvaramia] “was stealing the money” of Rustavi 2 to create a new channel.