TV founders deny 40% of shares offered by Rustavi 2 owner
By Gvantsa Gabekhadze
Thursday, August 1
Rustavi 2 owner Kibar Khalvashi, who regained 100 percent of the channel’s shares, ruled by European Court of Human Rights on July 18, has offered 40 percent of the TV shares to the founders of the channel David Dvali and Jarji Akimidze on Monday, which they denied.
Dvali and Akimidze say that the United National Movement government illegally seized their 60 percent of shares in 2004.
Khalvashi also stated that the same government illegally seized the channel from him in 2006 and promised the return of 50 percent of shares to Dvali and Akimidze in 2015, in case he managed to return the shares back.
Khalvashi also promised in 2015 that Dvali would be appointed a new director-general of the channel.
After the meeting with the founders on July 30, Khalvashi said that in previous years he had “different agreements” with Dvali and Akimidze regarding the shares. However, now he offered 40 percent of shares.
He said that Dvali would not be appointed a director-general and his lawyer [Khalvashi’s] Paata Salia will continue his work in the role.
Khalvashi said that “Dvali and Akimidze were not happy” with my offer.
The founders told the media they intend to voice their answer in several days and provide the grounds for the reply.
However, Akimidze said that 40 percent of shares will disable them provide changes in the staff and management and retain the channel as it is now.
If Khalvashi accepted to hand 50 percent of shares to the founders and appointed Dvali a director-general, he [Khalvashi] would not be able to make decisions unilaterally.
Dvali and Akimidze once again accused the Georgian Dream government of not-investigating “illegal-seizure” of Rustavi 2 in 2004, which left them “without any legal levers.”
“We are now completely dependent on what Khalvashi offers,” Dvali said.
Khalvashi filed a lawsuit to regain the shares in 2017 and won the case in Georgian courts.
However, Rustavi 2 leadership appealed the verdict of the Georgian Supreme Court to the European Court of Human Rights.
The European Court banned the enforcement of the verdict of the Georgian court until it decided on the case.
On July 18, 2019, the European Court upheld the verdict of the Georgian Supreme Court and allowed the return of 100 percent of shares to Khalvashi.
Khalvashi became the owner of Rustavi 2 in 2004, the year Dvali and Akimidze say they were illegally deprived of their shares.
Former Defence Minister Irakli Okruashvili says that he bought the channel with seven million USD in 2004 and Khalvashi “just represented me in the purchase agreement.”
Okruashvili has filed a lawsuit against Khalvashi “to regain his shares in the channel.”
Okruashvili claims that he paid 1.2 million USD to Akimidze and Dvali in 2004, which the two confirmed. However, the founders say that “it was a symbolic price and the real cost of the shares were much higher.”
They say that Okriashvili represented the United National Movement government, which decided to exercise its control on the channel after the 2003 Rose Revolution.
