Tbilisi Court of Appeals has upheld the ruling of the Tbilisi City Court in the TBC Bank founders and opposition Lelo party representatives’ case, Mamuka Khazaradze, Badri Japaridze and entrepreneur Avtandil Tserteli.
Both sides disputed the second instance.
The prosecutor’s office appealed the Tbilisi City Court’s decision, demanding that the first presented accusations against Japaridze, Khazaradze, and Tsereteli be reinstated after the Court had re-qualified the initial allegation of money laundering to fraud.
In turn, Badri Japaridze, Mamuka Khazaradze, and Avtandil Tsereteli filed an appeal for being completely acquitted.
Tbilisi City Court announced the verdict in the said case on January 12, 2022. The Court found the accused guilty and sentenced them to seven years in jail, but they went free as the statute of limitations on criminal prosecution had expired.
