Rustavi 2 TV founders fail to regain 60% of channel shares

Tbilisi City Court has not fulfilled the demand of two founders of Rustavi 2 TV channel, David Dvali and Jarji Akimidze, to get 60 percent of the channel shares back.

Dvali and Akimidze founded Rustavi 2 TV in 1994 and say that the United National Movement (UNM) government illegally confiscated their 60 percent of the share back in 2004, noting that current owner of Rustavi 2, Kibar Khalvashi, was also involved in the illegality. 

Khalvashi, for his part, also stated that the United National Movement illegally seized his shares and addressed the European Court of Human Rights under the Georgian Dream leadership to regain the property. 

He claimed that he purchased the broadcasting company for $7 million USD in 2004 but was forced under strong pressure of the Mikheil Saakashvili-led government and ex-president Saakashvili to concede his property to the new owner in December 2006.

Khalvashi won the channel ownership dispute in ECHR in 2019 and regained 100 per cent of the company’s shares. 

Dvali and Akimidze said after today’s trial they did not expect the court to reject their claim. 

They have plans to appeal the verdict.