Nika Melia Said Investigators Demanded Him To Make Testimony against Adeishvili

Salome Chkheidze

Tbilisi City Court started substantial discussion of the case on the bankruptcy of Bank Cartu against former Minister of Justice Zurab Adeishvili and co-defendants in the case. Prosecutor and defense lawyers made introductory speeches at the trial. Mtatsminda district governor, accused Nika Melia said during investigation he was demanded to make testimony against Adeishvili and was promised to discharge him from accusation.

Prosecutor Elizbar Gozalishvili spoke about the plan created by the accused people to create financial problems for the Bank Cartu. The prosecutor claimed that after Bidzina Ivanishvili came in politics, the former senior officials developed a scheme, according to which they intended to bankrupt the Cartu Bank. According to the Prosecutor’s Office, former Minister of Justice Zurab Adeishvili prepared a draft-law, according to which, state acquired authority to sell property of the legal entity, which had debt regardless the fact the property was mortgaged or not. After the law was adopted, the Revenue Service sequestered several properties mortgaged by the Cartu Bank and failed their sale at the auction; assigned the properties to the Ministry of Economy and directly sold them to the companies, which were controlled by the same owners, whose properties were seized. According to the scheme, Cartu Bank received a damage of 180 million USD.

“After signing debt agreements with the Cartu Bank, the companies wrote false data in their declarations, based on which they had huge tax debts. As a result, they were sequestered and put on the auction. In some cases, nobody wished to purchase the companies at the auction and they became state properties. If Cartu Bank also participated in the auction, a foreign company was also registered in the auction, which had not paid guarantee sum but participated in the bid based on the consent of Nika Melia, former head of the Enforcement National Bureau. Foreign company used to win the bid without paying the procurement sum and finally the property used to become state property,” prosecutor Gozalishvili said in his introductory speech.

Defense lawyer also made introductory speech. Zurab Adeishvili’s lawyer Otar Kakhidze said main evidence obtained by the prosecutor’s office fail to prove guiltiness of the former minister of justice. “If Adeishvili is guilty, then we should imagine that he compelled the parliament of Georgia to pass this law and then instructed the ministries what to do, then he asked president and the Prime-Minister to sing it and then gave instructions to the National Enforcement Bureau, etc. That means Adeishvili ruled everything that is illogic. This case is obviously politically motivated. It is proved by the fact that we are discussing the case related to the Prime-Minister’s family property. It is noteworthy that politically motivated cases are not discussed only in this hall. Large-scaled political persecution is underway and I hope the court will be impartial and will find Adeishvili innocent,” Otar Kakhidze said.

Accused Nika Melia noted that prosecutor’s office is in hard position and cannot collect enough evidence; the judge will get convinced in it soon. “At the investigative unit of the MIA they tried to convince me to blame Adeishvili during eight hours. They said I was not object of their interest and asked me to give evidence against Adeishvili; if I had, I would not have been the accused person in this case. So, I think the prosecutor’s office does not hold any evidence to prove our guiltiness.”

Lawyer of two more accused persons Davit Kodua and Laura Gachava said, his clients are victims of circumstances and regime because they were used as instruments to bankrupt Cartu Bank and were involuntarily involved in this process. “When negotiation started on this issue, Kodua and Gachava visited Cartu Bank and offered them to regulate the situation and to cover the debt by nature; however the problem was not resolved because the bank acted inflexibly. Kodua and Gachava were under huge oppression. These tax documents, which were allegedly fabricated by us, were produced in the institutions, where the bankruptcy scheme was developed,” the lawyer said.

Co-defendants in the case are current governor of Mtatsminda district and former head of the Enforcement National Bureau Nika Melia, former governor of Mtskheta-Mtianeti region Tsezar Chocheli, former deputy minister of economy Davit Giorgadze, head of Revenue Service Jambul Ebanoidze and businessmen: Davit Kodua, Laura Gachava, Ilia Antadze, Grigol Morchiladze, Nugzar Sajaia, Gocha Tskhenosanidze, Vasil Chigogidze, Levan Sakvarelidze and Irakli Gumbatashvili. Plea-agreement was signed with one more accused person, director general of the Ltd Interplast Nika Kubaneishvili and his case was separated from the criminal case; Adeishvili is sought by the investigation bodies.

Substantial discussion of the criminal case is scheduled at 11:00 am on November 1, when witnesses of the plaintiff will be questioned.