Today, On June 30, the Revenue Service froze the bank accounts of TV company “Trialeti” due to old debts dating back 10–15 years, imposed enforced collection.
This enforcement action - known as incasso - means that the station - already in financial crisis - will no longer be able to pay for electricity, internet, or signal distribution. It won’t be able to issue salaries either, which will ultimately lead to the shutdown of both its TV and radio services.
In June, TV Trialeti aired several segments about the appointment of Kote Buzaladze - classmate and best man of Georgia’s State Security Service (SSS) Head, Anri Okhanashvili - as acting mayor of Gori. During one of Trialeti’s talk shows, guest speaker Kakha Kukava publicly criticized Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze, Tea Tsulukiani, and others.
Following these broadcasts, representatives of the Shida Kartli regional government were instructed - presumably by the State Security Service - not to appear on Trialeti’s programs or give interviews to its journalists. At the same time - and reportedly as an act of political retribution initiated by Kobakhidze and Okhanashvili - the authorities imposed an enforced collection - incasso on the company’s accounts.
The root cause for the company’s debt in the first place stems from political pressure under the previous government. That pressure intensified when Trialeti, despite facing serious risks, became the first and only regional outlet to publicly support Bidzina Ivanishvili and Georgian Dream during their rise to power.
Despite that early support, the campaign against Trialeti continued. Georgian Dream’s first appointed governor of Shida Kartli dedicated over two years of his term solely to working against the station.
In the following years, many of the same individuals who had opposed Trialeti while serving under the United National Movement continued to target the station even after joining the Georgian Dream administration.
A particularly difficult period for the station was the transition to digital broadcasting, which rendered all its existing equipment obsolete and forced the company to take out a large bank loan to purchase new digital gear. During the repayment period, the devaluation of the Georgian lari deepened Trialeti’s financial crisis.
Due to this ongoing crisis, Trialeti struggled to cover essential operating costs and frequently could not pay its full tax obligations. Although no one was actively demanding repayment, interest on the debt continued to accumulate daily - eventually surpassing the original debt amount.
Over the years, Trialeti repeatedly appealed to the government to restructure the debt or sign a tax agreement - as had been done for other companies with debts in the tens of millions. However, all their requests were denied.
The government refused to restructure the debt or extend repayment deadlines. While no active demands were made, interest was added daily. The debt was deliberately allowed to grow - apparently in order to apply pressure at a politically convenient moment.
This is how, through a carefully constructed scenario, the authorities are now dismantling a regional TV station that was the first to stand with Bidzina Ivanishvili during his political ascent. A station that helped bring Georgian Dream to power - only to now be shut down by that same government.
They are shutting down Georgia’s oldest private television station. A station that has been operating since 1990 and just recently marked its 35th anniversary. A station that has survived immense pressure, multiple governments, and several wars - now being closed by Georgian Dream.
They are dismantling a station in which Bidzina Ivanishvili’s company owns a 10% stake - raising suspicions that the same company might soon acquire the remaining shares.
