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Transparency International – Georgia: Golden Com's bid to manage airwaves raises questions

August 4, 2011

Transparency International – Georgia thinks the victory of the Golden Com in the auction raises many questions.

The head of the organization Eka Gigiauri said before winning the auction, the head of the Golden Com Vasil Bolashvili was individual entrepreneur. In 2010 he even donated to the fund of the National Movement. According to the documents, he owned a hotel “Pirosmani” in Davit Agmashenebeli Alley, Tbilisi. One more hotel is also mentioned in the documents provided to the auction whose owner is Bolashvili.

Gigauri stated that Company Golden Com was registered 7 days before the auction. She added that other possible rivals did not have information about the auction in advance so the conditions were not equal. In addition, the TI-Georgia got hold of materials which show that the identification number of the Gold Com in the auction documents is same as the ID numbers in the documents of Bolashvili’s other companies like restaurants.

Company Golden Com won the online auction on August 1 and 100% share of the LLC Alpa Com was assigned to it for four-year management.
 
According to the Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development, the management right of the Alpa Com was sold for 110 000 GEL per year.

The new investor has to maintain the profile of the Alpa-Com. According to the auction conditions, the investor has to invest 12 million USD in the Alpa-Com throughout 4 years. The TV-Tower will be technically re-equipped, new TV-communication services shall be installed and the old ones shall be developed.

Company “Golden Com” was registered in the Enterprise Registration Agency on July 11, 2011 and Vasil Bolashvili is the head of the Company. Alpa-Com was created on the basis of the Georgian TV-Radio Center and was its heir-at-law. It owned not only the Tbilisi TV-Tower but 35 TV-Towers in various regions of Georgia. The Tbilisi TV-Tower serves 16 TV and 30 Radio Companies.

Interpresnews 

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