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The U.K. has sanctioned two Georgian television channels, accusing them of spreading “deliberately misleading information” about Russia’s war in Ukraine.
Tuesday’s measures against Imedi TV and PosTV were included in a wider package that targets hundreds of individuals and entities. The U.K. Foreign Office said the “landmark” package focuses on Russia’s oil exports and military suppliers, while the two Georgian broadcasters appeared in a separate sanctions notice.
That notice accused the stations of promoting claims “that the Ukrainian Government and President Zelensky are illegitimate, Ukraine is a ‘puppet’ of the West, Ukraine is a corrupt country and that Ukraine and the West are seeking to destabilise Georgia.”
In a statement, Imedi TV dismissed the sanctions as having “no value,” accusing authorities in London of supporting Georgia’s “criminal” previous government. It said it would continue to “serve Georgia and freedom of speech.”
The sanctions come shortly after a change of ownership at Imedi TV. A share agreement dated January 30 shows Georgian company Prime Media Global LLC acquiring the broadcaster for a “symbolic price” of 1,000 Georgian lari (about $374).
Among Prime Media Global’s shareholders is a local businessperson as well as Imedi TV management personnel, according to Georgian corporate records.
Past financial statements listed Imedi TV’s previous owners as Irakli Rukhadze, Benjamin Marson, and Igor Alexeyev, partners at the private equity group Hunnewell Partners.
Rukhadze, a U.S. citizen, previously maintained close business ties to Bidzina Ivanishvili, the billionaire founder and honorary chairman of the ruling Georgian Dream party. The U.S. sanctioned Ivanishvili in December 2024, accusing him of “undermining the democratic and Euro-Atlantic future of Georgia for the benefit of the Russian Federation.”
Earlier this month, Rukhadze said owning Imedi TV was “not of economic interest” and “damages our main business — making investments in the Georgian economy.” He also said the channel had “avoided meddling in political processes,” and helped diminish “the danger of Georgia’s involvement in the war.”
A spokesperson for Hunnewell Partners said that the firm “has had no involvement in the channel and has fully exited the business” since the announcement of the sale on February 6.
Corporate records indicate that PosTV is majority-owned by Georgian MP Viktor Japaridze. Minority shares are held by the channel’s founder and host, Shalva Ramishvili.
In February 2025, Ramishvili drew controversy after comments about Ukraine, including saying “Ukraine’s defeat is our victory,” calling Kyiv “the mother of Russian cities,” and describing President Zelensky as “a gathering of crybabies.”
Contacted by Monitori, OCCRP’s Georgia member center, Ramishvili called the U.K. allegations “nonsense.”
“We truly serve Georgia, and Britain has rewarded us with these sanctions for truly serving our country’s sovereignty,” he said.
