Construction Company staff arrested for fraud and misspending

By Tea Mariamidze

Thursday, July 14

Apprehended Guram Rcheulishvili says his arrest is a political show.

The lawyers of the detainees over Center Point Case are going to appeal.

Four members of the Center Point Group construction company - founder Maia Rcheulishvili, her son Guka Rcheulishvili and directors Salome Charkviani and Irakli Mindeli – accused of fraud and misspending company funds were sentenced to two months preliminary imprisonment by Judge Revaz Nadaraia at Tbilisi City Court.

Tbilisi Prosecutor’s Office demanded imprisonment, while the defence insisted on bail. The four charged persons were detained in the court hall right after the verdict was announced.

The Prosecution’s motion was justified by the fact that Maia Rcheulisvili and persons related to her called upon the developers to provide false information to the investigation, which purported that their legitimate interests had been met, but according to the Prosecution, Center Point Adjara did not fulfill its obligations to the developers and did not finish the White Magnolia residential complex in Batumi. This resulted in many citizens suffering significant financial losses. Overall, the case concerns the embezzlement of more than 20,000,000 GEL.

Guka Rcheulishvili, who was hiding from the investigation, was detained on July 12. The Prosecutor’s Office stated he was detained at his house.

Before his arrest, Rcheulishvili released a video in the social network. He said that the case against Center Point was politically motivated and it was “an election show”.

Moreover, despite the presence of the main defendant, the court postponed the hearing of another Center Point case until July 20, due to the poor health condition of Rusudan Kervalishvili, who is Maia Rcheulishvili’s sister and co-owner of the company.

According to the Prosecution, in connection with the construction of partnership Tabukashvili 88, Maia Rcheulishvili and Rusudan Kervalishvili - as well as the founder of Development Company DEXUS, Ivane Tsaguria - are charged with fraud and misappropriation of funds. The Prosecution says they misappropriated more than 11 million GEL.

The Centre Point Group went bankrupt after the 2008 war. The company was taken over by DEXUS which promised to fulfill the obligations of the Centre Point Group. More than 6,200 individuals are alleged to have been affected. They have held demonstrations and rallies against the company many times. However, the situation remained unchanged.