Mtavari Arkhi denies the information disseminated by the pro-government channel Rustavi 2, which claimed that millions are being transferred to the TV company through the black money sources, bypassing the signatures of three directors, thereby causing damage to both the state budget and Mtavari Arkhi itself. Rustavi 2 reports that one of the channel's directors, Giorgi (Gogi) Kurdadze, "deciphered" this scheme and that they "obtained his complaint."
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"We respond to the disinformation spread by the government's propaganda media, which claims there is an illegal circulation of funds on the Mtavari Arkhi. First of all, we declare that the Mtavari Arkhi has never made any illegal transactions.
Unfortunately, the fabricated accusations of Gogi Kurdadze, the director appointed by one of the founders of the channel, Zaza Okuashvili, serve only one purpose: to artificially create problems for the country's most influential critical channel and, as a result, to stop its broadcasting just days before the elections, which only serves the interests of the Georgian Dream’s Russian regime.
The false accusations voiced in Gogi Kurdadze's letter are so absurd that they do not even deserve additional attention from the channel or our viewers.
After so many years of struggle, the Georgian Dream will not be able to achieve its goal and will not stop us, even with the help of a representative from one of the founders of the Mtavari Arkhi. Our team will continue to fight for the European future of Georgia, firmly and relentlessly, and will achieve final victory together with the Georgian people," stated Mtavari Arkhi.
On October 15, according to a story published in the main news program of Rustavi 2, a letter from Giorgi Kurdadze, one of the directors of the Mtavari Arkhi, was found. In this letter, he addresses the Acting President of the National Bank, Natia Turnava, as well as the General Director of TBC Bank. According to Rustavi 2, Kurdadze writes about financial violations in the Mtavari Arkhi and demands that the 'circulation of illegal money' be stopped. The government media claims that cash of unknown origin enters the Mtavari Arkhi through the advertising agency New Sales, and then it is sent abroad through TBC. “We are talking about cash equivalent to 8.5 million dollars from 2019 to 2024, which exceeds 23 million GEL,” reports Rustavi 2.
The advertising company New Sales stated that Kurdadze's accusations were unfounded and provided him with an 'extensive, exhaustive, and detailed response' on September 13. "We invited Gogi Kurdadze to review any documents of interest to him. Instead of taking our offer seriously and stopping these baseless accusations, Gogi Kurdadze continued to make hallucinogenic claims. This has already taken on a campaign-like appearance, and it is clear that this does not serve the interests of Mtavari Arkhi LLC, but is motivated by completely different interests,” the company said.
Government media representatives asked Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze a question on this topic today, October 16. Kobakhidze attempted to discredit TV channels critical of the government, stating that 'the opposition as a whole, including all opposition TV channels, works with black money.' As he noted, the relevant agencies will 'probably study' this issue."
