Georgian businessperson Giorgi (Zarala) Ramishvili, who was detained at Tbilisi Airport for the illegal possession of a firearm, was released on bail on Monday. Ramishvili described the incident as an oversight, saying he hadn’t noticed the small firearm while packing his bag before departure.
Tbilisi City Court made the decision to release the businessman during Monday’s hearing, setting bail at ₾70,000 ($26,000). In doing so, the court rejected the prosecution’s request for pre-trial detention.
The head of Georgia’s fourth largest company, Silk Road Group, was detained on Saturday.
According to the Interior Ministry, officers seized a firearm, a magazine, and cartridges from Ramishvili on Saturday after scanning his hand baggage at the departure terminal.
Though it was determined that the firearm was registered to Ramishvili, the ministry claimed he did not have the right to carry it.
According to local media, Ramishvili told the court that it had been a ‘mistake’.
‘I was flying out, the gun was in my bag, and I simply didn’t notice it. So the classification that I was “carrying” a firearm isn’t accurate — it was just in the bag’, RFE/RL quoted him as saying.
The businessman also said he regretted the incident, but called the prosecution’s request for his detention ‘excessive’.
‘What do I have to run from? I have a lot of responsibilities and 7,000 employees’, he added in response to prosecutors who cited flight risk.
Ramishvili currently holds a 36.3% stake in Silk Road Holding — the rest is held by Kazakh businessperson Erkin Tatishev, who owns the same percentage; Alexei Topuria, who owns 16.7%; David Franz Borger who owns 5.6%; and Davit Mamulaishvili, who owns 5%.
Included among the Silk Road Group’s companies are Silknet, Georgia’s second largest mobile operator and internet provider; Silk Real Estate, which owns the Radisson brand in Tbilisi, Batumi, and Tsinandali as well as the Iveria casino in Tbilisi and Batumi; Silk Bank, whose assets are worth ₾188 million ($70 million); and Silk Media, which includes the TV company Silknet and the Georgian language version of Euronews.
Ramishvili also owns a minority stake of 15.5% in Wissol Petroleum, one of Georgia’s largest oil companies.
His detention sparked speculation about a possible link between the incident and the government’s alleged attempts to intimidate businesspeople.
OC Media
