A small Georgian opposition-leaning TV Kavkasia said it is under a state inquiry for receiving a donation from a private individual from the US. The process is based on a law that prohibits broadcasters from receiving funding from abroad.
In a 16 February letter from Georgia’s National Communications Commission (ComCom), later published on Facebook by the channel’s director, Nino Jangirashvili, it was mentioned that Kavkasia received a certain donation from an individual in the US in the fourth quarter of 2025.
The ComCom demanded the channel submit ‘detailed information on the services provided and the above-mentioned income, along with the relevant documents’.
Among the required documents were the letter specified in the contract, the invoice, and ‘other’ related documentation.
As the basis for the letter, the ComCom cited a 2025 legislative amendment adopted by the ruling Georgian Dream, which sharply restricted broadcasters from receiving funding from a ‘foreign power’. This is defined as a subject of a foreign state’s government, a non-citizen of Georgia, a legal entity not established under Georgian law, or an organisation established under the law of a foreign state.
Mikheil Gvadzabia
‘I really don’t know who this generous person is. Their name is Georgian. They might even have dual citizenship. I don’t know where I should investigate’, Jangirashvili wrote on Facebook, expressing her uncertainty about how to respond to the letter:
‘What should I even reply to them? What kind of service did I provide to the donator? What invoice did I send? Or what did we spend it on? We probably paid the electricity bill or covered the salary [...] What else could we have done with this money?’.
In her view, the process is part of the state’s attempt to label Georgians living abroad as a ‘foreign power’, saying ‘transfers from emigrants will also be subjected to the regime’s repressions’.
OC Media contacted the ComCom for comment. The agency responded the following morning and stated that no administrative procedures had been initiated against the TV channel.
‘The information about the initiation of administrative proceedings against TV Kavkasia is not true. The Communications Commission contacted the broadcaster by letter and only requested information regarding the matter’, the response read.
Jangirashvili emphasised that TV Kavkasia’s bank account is public, alongside its pledges for donations.
‘People who we don’t know at all are transferring us money and it touches my heart deeply’, she added.
Editor’s note: The article has been updated to include the response from the ComCom.
Xandie (Alexandra) Kuenning
This article was translated into Russian and republished by our partner SOVA.
