“I personally attended the meeting at which businessman Badri Patarkatsishvili demanded from Zaza Okuashvili to give up 51 percent of his company’s shares – the control block, essentially – and shut down Iberia TV broadcasting company,” declared Besarion Keidia, main witness for the accuser in the Iberia TV license revocation case, at the latest court hearing.

According to Keidia, at the meeting, which was also attended by Vano Chkhartishvili and Davit Bezhuashvili, Mr. Patarkatsishvili cited to Mr. Okuashvili President Mikheil Saakashvili’s demand to pay 4 million to the state budget and shut down Iberia TV.

“The agreement was not reached, as Mr. Okuashvili kept stalling and claiming that he was being robbed,” said Keidia, also explaining that he was a close friend and business partner of Badri Patarkatsishvili.

“As a middleman for Badri Patarkatsishvili, I relayed his ultimatum to Mr. Okuashvili: if he did not give up his company’s shares, he would get incarcerated. At the later meetings, held at Chubinashvili Street, which were also attended by Mr. Okuashvili’s friend Irakli Batiashvili and notary Nunu Ginturi, I passed to Mr. Okuashvili a new message from Badri Patarkatsishvili, now demanding 65% of the shares rather than the previous 51 percent,” declared Kedia.

After the hearing ended, Prosecutor Emzar Gagnidze told the journalists that a witness had confirmed that the previous government was using businessman Badri Patarkatsishvili to acquire the control block of shares of Omega Group:

“This was the reason why Besarion Keidia was questioned; he confirmed that the former government was interested in acquisition of 51 percent of Zaza Okuashvili’s business, but he refused to give it up. This caused annoyance to the government and resulted in them demanding 65 percent of shares as well as threatening him with incarceration if he did not comply,” said the prosecutor.

We remind our readers that the Chief Prosecutor’s Office started investigating the oppressive actions taken against Omega Group in 2013, although the grievance of Iberia TV regarding getting its broadcasting license forcibly revoked was singled out into a separate case that took 3 years to investigate and resulted in blame being placed on ex-Prosecutor General and Justice Minister Zurab Adeishvili and his deputy Giorgi Latsabidze. During the investigation, numerous witnesses were questioned, with founders of Omega Group and, consequently, Iberia TV also providing testimony. The case was given over for court review in summer of 2016, while investigation of the Omega Group case by the Chief Prosecutor’s Office is still ongoing.

In 2013, Iberia TV had its license returned, with a modification for specialized/entertainment broadcasting. It went on air again one year ago as a general broadcaster.

The next hearing regarding the case of forcible closure of Iberia TV and revocation of its broadcasting license will take place on April 21, at 14:30.