Nika Gvaramia, Aleksandre Khetaguri and Other Detainees Deny Accusation

Aleksi Bezhanishvili

“Nika Gvaramia is bewildered and does not have idea what he is accused of,” said Public Defender Ucha Nanuashvili after having visited director general of the TV-Company Rustavi 2 Nika Gvaramia and other detainees in temporary detention setting of the Tbilisi Main Police Department on December 20.

As Ucha Nanuashvili said he had talked with the detainees including Nika Gvaramia. Ombudsman said Nika Gvaramia does not plead guilty and claims that everything is linked with his activities as a director of the Rustavi 2. Nanuashvili noted that Gvaramia believes his detention is oppression on the independent TV-Company.

Besides Gvaramia, Nanuashvili met Kakha Damenia, Devi Kandelaki, Izabela Gotidze and Giorgi Nemsitsveradze. The Ombudsman said none of them plead guilty; they are shocked and cannot understand what had happened because they had been interrogated several times but do not know why they were arrested yesterday.

Besides that, the Ombudsman said none of the detainees complain about treatment in prison. He said there was a bit cold in Nika Gvaramia’s cell and this problem is already resolved.

Public Defender will supposedly visit former minister of energy Aleksandre Khetaguri, one more detainee, tomorrow. As Nanuashvili told journalists, representatives of the Public Defender’s office will arrive at the office of the MIA, where Khetaguri is placed in pretrial detention, but he cannot visit him today; he hopes to meet the former minister tomorrow. 

The former minister of energy Khetaguri denies accusation and claims he had not participated in the deal himself; his lawyer Davit Khazhalia told Interpresnews and clarified that he had visited his client at night of December 19.

“Aleko Khetaguri claims accusation on bribery against him is absurd. He said there was agreement between two parties where he did not personally participate and he did not have information about figures mentioned by the investigation service,” Khazhalia said.

Official term to impose liabilities on the detainees expires at 6:00 pm on December 21.

According to the official information, as a result of the joint operative and investigative activities, in collaboration with Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources a criminal scheme organized and with participation of the former high officials the purpose of which was to get a large amount of money as a bribe through falsification of documents has been revealed.

The former Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, the former Minister of Finance Aleksandre Khetaguri, the former Minister of Justice and Education and former deputy prosecutor general Nika Gvaramia, Director of “Khramhes 1”, “Khramhes 2”, “Mtkvari Energetik” Ltd, and “Telasi” Devi Kandelaki, Founder of the “Elendef Service” Ltd Giorgi Nemsitsveridze, founder of the audit company “Gutidze, Damenia, Chantladze solution”, the former deputy Minister of ministry of Economics Kakha Damenia have been detained.

On December 20, Investigative Service of the Ministry of Finance released footage of money being seized from the former deputy Minister of Economics Kakha Damenia’s private safe. 

According to the official information in November 2012, after Nika Gvaramia and Kakha Damenia learned that the investigative service was interested in studying the issue, Damenia placed 1.184,950 GEL, as if it was the remaining money of the cash office of “Elendef Service” Ltd in his safe, to foul the trail of the investigation. 

”The money has been seized by the investigation”, the investigative service statement says.