Giorgi Bachiashvili's states, that the new charges presented against him based on Bidzina Ivanishvili's lawsuit are time-barred. He complains that the construction of the "Mtkvari HPP" project became "critically" expensive and Bachiashvili should be responsible for this. According to initial estimates, the construction of the 54-megawatt Mtkvari HPP located in Samtskhe-Javakheti was supposed to cost up to USD 140 million, but it became more expensive by USD 100 million. Ivanishvili linked this price increase to Giorgi Bachiashvili's activities.
"Today, the General Prosecutor's Office has brought yet another bogus charge against me, this time alleging negligence in my role as the CEO of the Georgian Co-Investment Fund in relation to the Mtkvari HPP project.
The charge falls under Article 220, a lesser offense subject to a six-year statute of limitations. By law, this means that any alleged misconduct occurring before February 28, 2019, is legally time-barred. Yet, according to the investigator handling the case, the prosecution is attempting to build a case around a study conducted in 2014 and an alleged failure to assess risks at the start of the project—events that, even if true, by any legal standard, are unequivocally beyond the statute of limitations by at least five years.
This latest maneuver by the prosecution is not only legally unsound but also crystalizes our concerns about the arbitrary application of justice. It is difficult to see this as anything other than a politically motivated attempt to manufacture a case to support the extortion campaign orchestrated by Ivanishvili - the shadow ruler of Georgia", - Giorgi Bachiashvili notes.
