Name
Ownership
Regular Company
Relation
Name
Company Registered in Offshores
TV Advertisment Market
Maestro again made headlines in July 2012, when the Georgian government impounded thousands of satellite dishes it claimed were part of an investigation into a vote-buying scheme orchestrated by billionaire opposition leader, Bidzina Ivanishvili. Maestro contends the dishes were part of its campaign “Maestro in Every Family,” and was in no part connected to Ivanishvili.
Late in 2011, Maestro made headlines over a dispute between the company’s owners and Erosi Kitsmarishvili, who had bought controlling rights for 3 years in 2009. Kitsmarishvili earned the nickname Spiderman for scaling the 3 meter high Maestro wall and breaking into the studios in an effort to highjack the broadcasting, but the Maestro staff had joined Glonti in the Utsnobi radio station where they continued guerrilla TV broadcasting. Today, Maestro broadcasts normally in its regular studio, while Kitsmarishvili has been relieved of his duties as director.
Giorgi Ebralidze
Ekaterine Akobia
Levan Chikvaidze
Giorgi Gachechiladze
Maka Asatiani
Mamuka Glonti
15%
25%
15%
5%
25%
Nino Jangirashvili
After the November 7th raid on Imedi TV, Jangirashvili claims she was approached by a “businessman” with ties to the government who threatened she too would be shut down unless Kavkasia altered their programming or sold the channel . Kavkasia held its ground and despite a decline in advertisers, is still on the air.
Maestro
Kavkasia
MP David Bezhuashvili
David’s brother Gela was Foreign Minister.
Akimidze believes the authorities wanted him and Davit Dvali to hand over their controlling block of shares. “These negotiations (to buy our shares in Rustavi 2) ended when Erosi Kitsmarishvili declared the station bankrupt
Georgian Industrial
Group
45%
Nika Tabatadze
Deputy Foreign Minister
10%
TV 202
Erosi Kitsmarishvili
Nika Tabatadze
Deputy Foreign Minister
10%
TV 202’s demise occurred on August 27, 2005 when Ramishvili and Kokhreidze were arrested for extortion.
Before Irakli Chikovani became Chairperson of the Georgian National Communications Commission (GNCC) in the summer of 2009, he was the director and co-owner of Rustavi 2 . In his first year as Chair, he continued to co-own MediaHouse, one of the country’s two major media sales houses, which sold advertising time on Rustavi 2, Mze and several other channels. In 2010, Chikovani sold MediaHouse and its clients to General Media the new, number one media sales company.
The 60 Minutes investigative news program was cancelled after Khalvashi’s arrival. He explained that he instructed his staff to ease up on negative reports regarding the authorities and present them in a better light, but this wasn’t enough. “Sometimes the president’s administration would directly get involved in the station’s activities ,” he added.
Rustavi 2
55%
David Dvali
Rustavi 2
Delgado
Resources
90%
The owner of the TV33 frequency, Vazha Kiladze, sold his share to Hans von Sachsen-Altenburg, who was planning to start the regular broadcasting but sold the frequency two weeks later . TV33 became Sakartvelo TV, changed owners several times until Giorgi Gegeshidze, co-founder of the development company Magi Style, became the owner on February 2, 2008.
90%
GeoTrans
Kibar Khalvashi
Jarji Akhimidze
Giorgi Gegeshidze
Co-founder of the development company Magi Style
Sakartvelo TV
Rustavi 2
Levan Karamanishvili
90%
July, 2004
November 17th, 2006
90%
Dexon Ltd
December, 2006
Alania TV
Geomedia
Group
TV Alania started broadcasting in 2005 without a broadcasting license and apparently, without the knowledge of GNCC Chairperson, Giorgi Arveladze. In 2007 he was asked what frequency Alania was using for broadcasting and he replied he wasn’t aware of such a station . His friend Mikheil Saakashvili, however, was aware of this station and announced to a group of journalists that he watched Alania programs in the evenings.
70%
Karamanishvili is a businessman who founded the mobile phone operator Beeline/Mobitel Georgia and is involved in the internet provider, Caucasus Online . In both companies, Levan Karamanishvili represents opaque shareholders who hide behind offshore shell companies.
70%
Government
40%
Rustavi 2
Giorgi Gegeshidze
Mze
Rustavi 2
30%
Irakli Chikhovani
General Director of Rustavi 2
Rustavi 2
Mze
10%
30%
100%
Giorgi Gegeshidze
General Director of
Rustavi 2
Rustavi 2
Obieqt TV
Ketevan Asatiani
Chemexim
International
GNCC
Georgian Industrial
Group
Zurab Zedgenidze
Vano Chkhartishvili
In 2004, her representative and technical director, Misha Agladze, was summoned to the GNCC. He says that GCNN Chairman, Dimitry Kitoshvili, told him the company may have problems and lose its license. Soon, Kitoshvili’s neighbor, a dentist named David Kakauridze, contacted Agladze and said he could make the problems “go away” for a 50% share in the company. Kakauridze agreed to pay 10,000 GEL in addition to a yearly payment of 4000 GEL to the GNCC for the license. He then demanded an extra 1% and became the controlling partner.
Ramaz Beridze
Kibar Khalvashi
Eldar Mdinaradze
78%
Levan Kubaneishvili
Zurab Zedgenidze
Levan Kubaneishvili
TV Europa
Eldar Mdinaradze
Mze
Kakhi Beqauri
Mze
When Kakaudirdze failed to pay, “Obieqt TV” sued. Ketevan Asatiani requested her agreement to relinquish 51% of her shares to Davit Kakauridze be annulled, as it had been signed under duress and was illegal. While the case was pending, Kitoshvili, who had become the President’s spokesman and parliamentary secretary, was arrested for extortion in conjunction with the Irakli Okruashvili case in September 2007. Attorney Tamar Kodzaia says that this was illegal, because according to the existing regulations, a partner must own 60% before he can hand over shares.
November 29th, 2011
Mid 2007
22%
Zurab Zedgenidze
Just before the parliamentary
Elections of 2012
Kakhi Beqauri
100%
Eldar Mdinaradze
50%
Media House
David Bezhuashvili
Levan Kubaneishvili
Mze
Kakhi Beqauri
Teimuraz Shengelia
On August 12 2004, TV Evropa officially informed the GNCC that it intended to broadcast on the 38th channel, but the next day, the GNCC started proceedings to cancel Evropa’s license and annulled it a month later on the grounds that on the 18 and 19 of August, “Evropa discontinued its activities envisaged by the license and failed to broadcast.”
Meno
International
Former parliamentarian who was Shevardnadze’s economy minister at the time, reportedly bought 15% , but in a secret recording with Erekle Kodua, the late billionaire Badri Patarkatsishvili, who was Chkhartishvili ‘s friend, said he owned Mze
David Bezhuashvili
TV9
On November 30th, GNCC lawyer, Kakhi Kurashvili, testified that the Commission incurred losses of up to 50,000 GEL due to Evropa’s illegal broadcast.
“The damage was calculated by an investigation that revealed TV company Evropa illegally used frequencies without a license… it was calculated and determined proportionally to the fee of the license… Otherwise, if this frequency should be bid on, what would its price be on a competitive basis?” Kurashvili attested.
2004
2002
2003
2005
100%
Giorgi Gegeshidze
Director of Rustavi 2
“About 15 people came in, all dressed in OCD uniforms, only three of them were dressed as civilians,” said technician Irakli Sharashidze. “They arrested our (executive) director Loid Jikaridze and started gathering equipment from all the rooms, including the roof. There were two big trucks waiting for them in the street. They took transmitters, relays… dismantled everything. Those in civilian clothes were more active, choosing what to leave and what to take – starting with TV sets, recorders, modulators, transmitters… everything. They’d call someone (by telephone) named Aleko and say, “they’ve got this – shall we take it?” “Pack” was the response, and they took different equipment totaling sixty thousand dollars in value...”
The officers also took about 50 or 60 licensed films belonging to the TV station. In January, 2006, Sharashidze said he saw those films shown on TV Alania and claims their equipment was also found at Alania. Alania managers denied the allegations.
Irakli Chikovani
Bedegi
Accept LLC
80%
Ekaterine Ivanishvili
20%
1ST Stereo
General
Media
Giorgi Arveladze
Imedi TV
RAAK Georgia
Kakha Kobiashvili
Magi Style
100% of shares
Giorgi Jaoshvili
Joseph Kay (aka Soso Kakishvili)
70%
Saakashvili’s inner team during the Rose Revolution, was elected to parliament where he became head of the Presidential administration and served as secretary general of the United National Movement When Irakli Okruashvili resigned from his post of minister of economic development ten days after being appointed, Arveladze stepped into the slot until quitting politics to go into business in January 2008.
Chairman of I-Media’s board of supervisors
Geo Construction
The representatives from the law enforcement agencies, which were present there, told me that there would be no problems with other co-owners. Then I explained that Imedi’s assets were frozen [Patarkatsishvili assets were frozen in January in connection with criminal charges against him involving conspiracy to overthrow the government]… In two hours, however, they brought court papers saying that the assets were unfrozen. After that I signed a sale-purchase agreement.
Meskhuri Sakhli
Jaoshvili said that he was forced to sell his shares to Joseph Kay (aka Soso Kakishvili), a distant relative to the billionaire. Kay, a driving instructor in the USA claimed he was the executor of the will
45%
90% of shares
65%
JMG
A Gas
Joseph Kay (aka Soso Kakishvili)
10%
100%
Scandals have dogged the TV9 station even before its launch in April, 2012. In February, Ivanishvili charged that his satellite van for live broadcasts, worth 450,000 Euro, had been purposely damaged at customs clearance, along with other shipments belonging to Ivanishvili companies. Then in June, the Georgian prosecutor’s office seized thousands of satellite dishes Global TV was handing out to subscribers as part of a promotional deal. The prosecutor’s office believes the dishes were being used to bribe voters, as Global TV was the sole broadcaster of Ivanishvili’s TV9. The State Audit Agency fined Ivanishvili 63.1 million GEL.
Shatili
Georgian Media
Production Group
30%
Teleimedi
Giorgi Kokharashvili
I-media
Geo Snack Services
General Media arrived in early 2011. Although Touch Media and Media House both still exist as legal entities, General Media was the result of their de-facto merger. Representatives of Imedi and Rustavi 2 told Transparency International Georgia (TI Georgia) that competition between the two channels had led to unsustainably low ad-prices, so the two channels decided to stop competing against each other and decided to work with the same advertising sales house – General Media.
15%
Imedi began broadcasting on March 15th 2003 and was owned by billionaire Badri Patarkatsishvili, whose station had become increasingly critical of the Saakashvili government, particularly in its coverage of the brutal murder of Georgian banker Sandro Girgvliani, who was beaten to death by interior ministry officers in January 2006 . Later, in the fall of 2007, a series of anti-government demonstrations, culminated in the seizure of Imedi TV and a 15 day State of Emergency.
Kolmeurne
Giorgi Mikeladze
Georgian Investment
Holding, Ltd
RAK Georgia Holding
80%
Geo Kiri
Benett and
Benett Capital
2008
While the Patarkatsishivili family was fighting a court battle with their relative Kay, said he sold 90% of his shares for an undisclosed price to RAK Georgia Holding, supposedly a subsidiary of Ras Al Khaimah Investment Authority - RAKIA - the same real estate investment company which in purchased the port of Poti in 2008 to develop an industrial free zone. However, United Arab Emirates’ RAKIA denied having anything to do with this investment, stating that somebody had registered the company under it’s name in Georgia
In the meantime, Chikovani has remained a shareholder in Meno International, Bedegi and Magi Style construction companies, all of which he co-owns with Giorgi Gegeshidze, director of Rustavi 2, which is subject to GNCC regulations. Magi Style was involved in constructing the new parliament building in Kutaisi. Chikovani also co-owns Magi Style Media , an advertising agency that, among other services, offers outdoor advertising, broadcast design and television advertisement production. The head of the GNCC legal department declared that in no way do Chikovani’s activities violate conflict of interest rules and that these issues were “explored” before his appointment .
Touch Media
Imedi TV
Ina Gudavadze
100%
Georgian Media Production
Group
2012
2011
Liana Jhmotova
Georgian Media Production group is presently owned completely by Badri Patarkatsiashvili’s widow, Ina Gudavadze, and directed by Liana Jhmotova, both Russian citizens.
45%
10%
30%
15%
Joseph Kay
Giorgi Arveladze
Giorgi Korakhashvili
Giorgi Mikabedridze