"We have never built anything illegally, at least without any permit," Metro Holding told BMG in response to the arrest of a Turkish businessman Galip Ozturk.
According to a statement issued by the Finance Ministry's Investigation Service, the case concerns the deliberate evasion of a particularly large amount of taxes by Galip Ozturk. He was detained under the first parts of Articles 260 and 261 of the Criminal Code of Georgia, which envisage imprisonment for up to 6 years.
Galip Ozturk's company Metro Holding does not share the allegations announced by the Investigation Service. As Raul Kakhadze, director of the company said, Metro Holding will release the official statement after handing over the case materials.
"We have not received the materials yet - under what article he was arrested, we do not know anything yet. We will make an official statement later.
Obviously, we do not share the content of the statement.
We are surprised, we have not destroyed anything, we have been building so far and we will build more. We have never built anything illegally, at least without a permit. Soon everything will be clear. We believe in the positions and will share them with you, "Kakhadze said.
Businessman Galip Ozturk owns Metro Holding, which owns the largest tourist facilities in Batumi. Among them are the 455-room hotel "Euphoria", "Intourist", "Metro Sky Tower" and "Business Legend". Also the largest shopping center in Batumi "Metro City".
Turkish businessman Galip Ozturk was arrested by Georgian authorities Tuesday, following a police raid in Batumi. The 57-year-old founder of Turkish intercity bus company Metro Turizm was detained on charges related to money laundering and falsifying documents, Finance Ministry said in a press release.
