Rustavi 2 Founders File Lawsuit, Requesting Return of TV Company Shares

The founders of TV Company Rustavi 2, Jarji Akimidze and Davit Dvali, along with their lawyer Kakha Kojoridze, have filed a lawsuit to the Tbilisi City Court against the current owner Kibar Khalvashi, after he won the channel ownership dispute at the European Court of Human Rights in July 2019, requesting the return of 60% of the Company shares.

“In 2004, our shares at Rustavi 2 were illegally seized. However, we were and still are its founders and demand these shares to be returned. The lawsuit is based on legal processes that began in Georgia and continued in Strasbourg. These processes have opened a legal way for us to start a civil dispute. So far, we have only applied to the Prosecutor's Office through legal proceedings and have requested an investigation,” Davit Dvali said.

Khalvashi’s lawyer and current Director-General of Rustavi 2 Paata Salia stated that he would make a comment after familiarizing himself with the lawsuit.

After regaining 100 percent of Rustavi 2 shares Khalvashi offered to return 40 percent of shares to Akimidze and Khalvashi, which the two refused to accept.

The ownership of the TV Channel has a quite complicated history.

Established in 1994, the broadcasting company changed ownership many times between 2004 and 2012.

In March 2017 Georgia’s Supreme Court delivered a verdict in favor of its former shareholder (2004-2006) Khalvashi.

The European Court of Human Rights suspended the enforcement of the Georgian Supreme Court’s verdict.

However, on July 18, 2019, the Strasbourg Court delivered a verdict in the ownership case of one of Georgia’s largest TV channels, according to which the TV Company was re-registered to shareholder Kibar Khalvashi, as it was decided by the courts of three instances in Georgia. 

By Ana Dumbadze 

Related Story: 

European Court of Human Rights Releases Verdict on Rustavi 2 TV