TV Pirveli founder: gov’t has plans to arrest my father, lelo founder Khazaradze

Founder of the TV Pirveli opposition-minded TV channel Vato Tsereteli claims that the Georgian Dream government and its founder Bidzina Ivanishvili have plans to arrest his father Avtandil Tsereteli and founder of Lelo opposition party Mamuka Khazaradze. 

TBC Bank founders Mamuka Khazaradze and Badri Japaridze were charged by the Prosecutor’s Office of Georgia on July 24, 2019 for laundering $16.7 million, while  businessman Avtandil Tsereteli was charged as an accomplice in the money laundering case. 

Khazaradze and Japaridze say that no laundering took place back in 2008 as the Prosecutor’s Office claims this. 

Vato Tsereteli says that Ivanishvili needs the arrest to ‘trade with the west,’ including for his TV Pirveli channel. 

However, he says that he will not concede the channel he created seven years ago. 

The last trial hearing in the money laundering case took place earlier this week.