Opposition-leaning Mtavari Arkhi founder accuses Nika Gvaramia, Giorgi Gabunia of using TV channel as “international money laundering machine”

Zaza Okuashvili, the founder of the opposition-leaning Mtavari Arkhi TV channel, on Thursday said the activities of Nika Gvaramia, the leader of the opposition Coalition for Change, and Giorgi Gabunia, the Director General of Mtavari Arkhi TV channel, were an example of how one could hide behind the media and rob a TV company at the expense of the current situation, using TV channel as a “machine to launder millions of dollars internationally”.

Okuashvili’s comment followed after the statement of Gabunia, who on Wednesday claimed that Okuashvili had decided to take action in alignment with the interests of Bidzina Ivanishvili, the founder and Honorary Chair of the ruling Georgian Dream party, by attempting to shut down Mtavari Arkhi.

In his remarks, Okuashvili noted that the problem of Mtavari Arkhi was that Gvaramia, the channel’s former Director General and a co-founder, and Gabunia had brought the TV company to bankruptcy.

“In response to Giorgi Gabunia's statement, I declare that I did not make a decision to shut down Mtavari Arkhi [TV channel], and Giorgi Gabunia's statement is a slander against me and part of Nika Gvaramia's plan to wrap their case and interests in a way Giorgi Gabunia presented [to the public]. The problematic issue related to Mtavari Arkhi, which Nika Gvaramia and Giorgi Gabunia so unexpectedly brought up publicly today, does not serve the interests of the channel and is a step taken against it. No disruptive steps have been taken by me regarding the channel, and the complaints that have existed against the channel's management for several months have remained the same”, Okuashvili said.

“The problem of the Mtavari Arkhi is that the directors - first Nika Gvaramia and then Giorgi Gabunia - brought the TV company to bankruptcy. Their activities are an example of how one can hide behind the media and rob a TV company at the expense of the patience of employees and the current situation in the country, using and turning a TV channel into a machine for laundering millions of dollars internationally”, he continued.

Okuashvili further recalled his ongoing international disputes against Ivanishvili, and assessed Gabuania’s statement about his ties to Ivanishvili as comical and illogical.

“My desire is for the channel to continue operating smoothly with a full staff and management that will not seek to accumulate personal wealth at the expense of the TV company”, he concluded.