The former Rustavi 2 TV general director Nika Gvaramia had been charged by the Georgian Prosecutor’s office for abusing his power and making decisions which were harmful to the TV channel, reported georgiatoday. An investigation has been launched under Article 220 of the Criminal Code of Georgia, involving the abuse of power against the legitimate interests of Rustavi 2 and the misappropriation of a large amount of funds, which caused significant damage.

Gvaramia was questioned as a witness on 2 August in front of a magistrate at the Tbilisi City Court in a case launched by the state prosecution on 20 July. The case concerns the allegations from Nino Nizharadze, who previously owned 9% of Rustavi 2 shares.

According to Nizharadze, Gvaramia cost Rustavi 2 ₾30 million–₾50 million ($10 million–$17 million) due to the signing of a favourable advertisement deal with ad agencies between 2015–2017. The agencies were owned, according to the prosecution, by ‘friends of Gvaramia’. A spokesperson for the Prosecutor’s Office said that the potential damages to Rustavi 2 amounted to ₾6.8 million ($2.3 million).

Gavramia himself described this charge as a shameful move by the Prosecutor’s Office.  “I did not expect such a shameful action. I had the contract on loan with the advertisement company “Intermedia” and they paid for it in nature. I sold my own house and gave money as a loan to “Intermedia” to pay salaries. All the documents are at “Intermedia” and the Prosecutor’s Office seized them while conducting the investigation at the Rustavi 2 TV building. You didn’t even ask anything about it during the interrogation. If there was any reason to file charges, why didn’t you even mention the issue at all? Now wait for my response,” he wrote via social media.

The charges against Gavramia came shortly after he lost the ownership of Rustavi 2 TV following the ruling of the European Court of Human Rights (Caucasus Watch reported).