Prosecutors Probe Critical Mtavari TV on Alleged Financial Misconduct
Prosecutor’s Office of Georgia said on July 17 it requested financial records from the Georgian Dream-critical Mtavari Arkhi channel, currently off air, and its contracting sales company as part of a probe into alleged financial misconduct at the broadcaster.
The investigation stems from a complaint filed by Giorgi (Gogi) Kurdadze, a director appointed by Mtavari Arkhi co-founder Zaza Okuashvili, and follows a months-long internal management conflict that led the channel to go off air in May and continue operating through social media only.
According to prosecutors, the probe centers on alleged “abuse of managerial authority in an enterprise, by a group acting in concert, misappropriation and embezzlement of the legal entity’s funds, and the legalization of illicit income.”
Mtavari Arkhi has denied any wrongdoing in a July 16 statement, calling the allegations “absurd.”
“As we stated back in the fall of last year, Zaza Okuashvili has been making false and baseless accusations against Mtavari Arkhi’s management and co-founders, serving the interests of the Russian regime,” Mtavari Arkhi said, noting that the ruling Georgian Dream party succeeded in using Okuashvili to shut down the channel.
Georgian Dream “is once again attempting retribution against the station’s management and other co-founders, based on defamation by Okuashvili,” Mtavari said.
Internal discord at Mtavari Arkhi has intensified in recent months. Channel general director Giorgi Gabunia has accused Zaza Okuashvili of orchestrating efforts to dismantle the station and of colluding with the ruling Georgian Dream party. Additionally, Gabunia and Mtavari Arkhi argued that Kurdadze, acting under Okuashvili’s direction, deliberately withheld payments to service providers.
Okuashvili has denied those accusations and, in turn, has publicly accused Gabunia and Mtavari Arkhi co-founder Nika Gvaramia of “financial manipulation,” which led the channel to “artificial bankruptcy.”
Mtavari Arkhi was founded by Nika Gvaramia, a former director general of the Rustavi 2 TV channel. Gvaramia was first jailed in 2022 after being found guilty of abuse of power related to Rustavi 2 management, in a case that was widely seen as politically motivated. He entered politics soon after his release by a presidential pardon in 2023. He quit as Director General upon co-founding the opposition Ahali party early in 2024, and transferred his 12% stake in the media to his wife, Sopho Liluashvili.
He is currently one of six opposition leaders jailed for refusing to testify before Tsulukiani’s commission in the Georgian Dream’s one-party parliament, investigating alleged misconduct by former officials.
Also Read:
- 30/06/2025 – Two Broadcasters Allege Political Motives Behind Levied Accounts
- 03/06/2025 – Georgian Dream Targets Critical Broadcasters for Questioning Government Legitimacy
- 28/04/2025 – Critical Mtavari TV to Shut Down as Journalists Announce End of Broadcast