Cartu Bank sues TV Pirveli for defamation

Cartu Bank has filed a defamation lawsuit against opposition-leaning broadcaster TV Pirveli, claiming that the TV channel had aired unsubstantiated information.

In his interview with Imedi TV, Nikoloz Guluа, the head of the bank’s legal department, noted that the TV channel had deliberately spread false claims suggesting that Bidzina Ivanishvili was using the bank to conceal assets and portraying the institution as the least transparent in Georgia.

“In response to these statements - which are entirely false - the bank has taken action, as it has in previous instances. We have filed multiple lawsuits against TV Pirveli over defamatory content. Cartu Bank is owned by the Cartu Foundation and serves the foundation’s projects. All profits generated by the bank are used for charitable initiatives through the foundation. The distribution of profits to other individuals is prohibited by law”, Guluа said.

He further added that the purpose of such defamation was to discredit Cartu Bank and present it as serving the interests of a single person or group - a portrayal he firmly denied.

“The bank operates in full compliance with National Bank of Georgia regulations. There are strict rules in place regarding related-party transactions”, Gulua concluded.