202 TV Airs Investigative Report over MP Bekauri

Tbilisi-based private television station 202 broadcasted on September 13 an investigative report which incriminates Koba Bekauri, a parliamentarian from the ruling National Movement party, for illegal business activities.

The report is a major element in a scandal involving the detention of co-founder and anchor of the 202 TV, Shalva Ramishvili. Bekauri claims Ramishvili was extorting USD 100,000 in exchange for the latter killing the potentially incriminating piece. Ramishvili says Bekauri has been intimidating him and fabricated the extortion charge.

According to this report, MP Koba Bekauri?s assets increased by 294,000 Lari (about USD 163,000) since he became a parliamentarian one year ago. In an interview, which is the part of this report, Bekauri admits that he received a USD 150,000 interest-free loan from an Israel-based Georgian businessman. According to the law on conflict of interests, an interest-free loan is the same as a gift and public servants have the right to accept gifts within a year only if the gift’s value does not exceed 20 times the minimum cost of living ? USD 150,000 is much more this figure.

MP Koba Bekauri also admitted that he bought 20% of the shares in the customs terminal Opiza, but registered these shares under his wife’s name. But according to the investigative report, MP Bekauri is directly engaged in the management of the terminal. The law also prohibits public servants from participating in the management of private enterprises.

But in the interview MP Bekauri denies all these allegations, saying that he never violated the law while dealing with his commercial activities.

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