On April 1, the TV company Imedi, first, and then 12 other pro-government media outlets published material discussing a Byline Time article about the Russian ties of Imedi TV owner, Irakli Rukhadze.
The material was published on the websites of NewsHub, Media Holding Kvira, Ongo.ge, Marshalpress, For.ge, InfoPostalioni, Mkhare.ge, Tiflisnews, Reportiori, Xnews, Spnews, and exclusivetv, as well as their Facebook pages (1;2;3;4;5;6). It also appeared on the pro-Kremlin News Front website.
According to these media outlets, the article that “accuses” Bidzina Ivanishvili and Irakli Rukhadze of having “Russian ties” is based on the opinions of the “radical opposition members” Sergi Kapanadze and Natalia Sabanadze.
It is worth noting that the 14 media outlets published the article with the same text and photo. Some of them have also added an identical final paragraph stating that the Byline Times article was funded from Georgia and was commissioned by the “Civil Society Foundation” and “Civic Idea.” Among these media outlets, only For.ge indicates that the material was prepared by Imedi.
POSTV and Imedi also published an information card with the identical visual and the identical claim that the Byline Times article is based on Kapanadze’s and Sabanadze’s opinions..
In reality, comments from Sergi Kapanadze and Natalia Sabanadze do appear in the Byline Times article; however, the investigation is not solely based on the opinions of Georgian experts. Below, we will review what sources the author relies on and what information the article provides.
-
Is the Article Based on Kapanadze’s and Sabanadze’s Opinions?
The headlines used by pro-government media outlets to distribute articles and information cards create the impression that the material is entirely based on the opinions of Sergi Kapanadze and Natalia Sabanadze.
The article, titled “Moscow’s Ties to the Georgian Regime Ran Through Kensington and Chelsea,” authored by journalist Will Neal and published on the Byline Times website on March 31, consists of eight sections. In four of these sections, a single paragraph is dedicated to quotes from Natalia Sabanadze, Sergi Kapanadze, founder of the Media Development Foundation, Tamar Kintsurashvili, and professor at Ilia State University Hans Gutbrod.
The core of the article is built upon leaked documents from MeritServus, an offshore corporate service provider based in Cyprus. By analyzing these documents, the author concludes that Irakli Rukhadze’s company, Hunnewell Partners, represented the interests of Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich in a lawsuit against the Russian telecommunications company MTS. This is the central story around which the author reviews information about connected individuals, their positions, and ties to Russia. In certain sections, the author relies on open sources.
Despite the pro-government media’s claim that the article is based on Sabanadze’s and Kapanadze’s opinions, an analysis of specific sections makes it clear that the author uses their comments as evaluations rather than primary sources of information. For example:
Sergi Kapanadze’s quote appears in only one section discussing Bidzina Ivanishvili, the Imedi TV channel, and the political stance of its owner. “Ivanishvili has single-handedly hijacked Georgia’s democracy and is leading the country down a path of subjugation to the Kremlin’s interests. […] He’s destroyed all democratic institutions in the best Russian tradition, arresting opposition, capturing courts and all branches of governance while attacking civil society,” says Kapanadze.
Natalia Sabanadze’s opinion is also mentioned only once, in the section titled “All Roads Lead to London,” which discusses Rukhadze’s UK-managed company. “Imedi TV is for sure one of the most powerful instruments Georgian Dream has in pushing its narrative and positions, manipulating public opinion while dismantling democratic institutions and consolidating authoritarian rule. […] If there is a political decision that sanctions should target not only Ivanishvili himself but a wider group of key enablers, then Imedi would definitely fall into that category,” she says.
-
What Information Does the Article Provide About Rukhadze’s Company?
The article published on Byline Times begins with a brief introduction stating that leaked documents reveal how the UK firm Hunnewell Partners, controlled by alleged enablers of “Georgia’s ruling oligarch,” helped a Putin ally profit from a $1.5 billion worth scandal in Uzbekistan. The text is presented as an investigative piece by Byline Times.
At the beginning of the article, the focus is on Gulnara Karimova, the eldest daughter of Uzbekistan’s former president, Islam Karimov. Once a powerful figure, Karimova became embroiled in a scandal after a 2012 journalistic investigation exposed a corruption scheme in which three international telecommunications giants engaged in bribery with her companies to gain access to the Uzbek market. The largest share of the bribes came from MTS, a Russian group listed on the New York Stock Exchange. In 2019, MTS reached a settlement to avoid prosecution, admitted guilt, and paid an $850 million fine.
Despite this settlement, MTS’s problems did not end; its stock price fell, causing losses for its shareholders. This led to a lawsuit with Irakli Rukhadze’s Hunnewell Partners appointed as the lead plaintiff, seeking at least $13 million in damages. The court dismissed the case, and at the time, no suspicions were raised that Hunnewell Partners did not actually own the MTS shares. The details of the lawsuit remained undisclosed until leaked documents from the offshore service provider MeritServus surfaced.
Byline Times analyzed these documents and concluded that in 2019, Hunnewell Partners entered into an agreement with Pro-Alpha Investments Ltd., a Cyprus-based company. Under this agreement, Hunnewell Partners acquired nominal rights, title, ownership, and interest in MTS securities. In reality, these securities had been held by Pro-Alpha Investments Ltd. until November 2018, when they were transferred to another Cypriot firm, Pro-Beta Investments Ltd.
As a result, Hunnewell Partners could act as Pro-Alpha’s representative, allowing Pro-Alpha to receive compensation for losses without its name being publicly disclosed. Hunnewell was promised 10% of the final settlement amount.
Leaked documents from MeritServus indicate that Pro-Alpha and Pro-Beta were merely the first links in a chain involving at least six different entities, ultimately arriving at a single individual – Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich.
In response to media inquiries, a representative of Hunnewell described the lawsuit as a “perfectly normal claim” and stated that it was a “conventional litigation-funding arrangement” between the parties. They denied that the company had any agreements with Abramovich, claiming that at the time, he was not sanctioned by the UK. They also asserted that they had no knowledge of his involvement (if true) in the lawsuit. The representative further claimed that Hunnewell Partners had no direct or indirect business dealings or investments in Russia and had no ties to Abramovich. They described Hunnewell as “unequivocally pro-Western and pro-Ukrainian.”
The article continues by discussing individuals connected to this case, with the author reviewing the history of Imedi TV and covering Badri Patarkatsishvili and his family’s inheritance, etc. The later sections of the article include evaluative comments from Georgian experts about Imedi TV and Irakli Rukhadze. However, the claim that the article is based on their opinions is not true. The expert quotes are presented as assessments, and the author does not rely on them as sources of information for the investigation.
At the end of the article, it is noted that the research was supported by a grant from the Civil Society Foundation (formerly the Open Society Georgia Foundation) via the Tbilisi-based think tank Civil Idea.
Archive of articles: Kvira, ONGO; For.ge; InfoPostalioni, Mkhare, News Front; SPNEWS; Exclusive TV; NEWSHUB; XNEWS; TIFLISNEWS, Marshalpress,
Archive of Facebook posts: InfoPostalioni; Kvira; Mkhare; Tiflisnews; Reportiori; Marshalpress
