Imedi TV exclusive: leaked recordings show opposition leaders feeding fabricated intel to foreign powers

Imedi TV on Friday published explosive audio evidence from prosecutorial files, capturing opposition leaders Elene Khoshtaria and Zurab “Girchi” Japaridze admitting they compiled 100-page dossiers of unverified claims on Russian businesses, oil imports, and alleged Iranian-drone transit through Georgia - at the direct request of Western and Ukrainian officials - to trigger sanctions against Georgian judges, prosecutors, and Bidzina Ivanishvili, the founder and Honorary Chair of the ruling Georgian Dream party.

Eight senior opposition figures - including former imprisoned-President Mikheil Saakashvili, opposition leaders Nika Gvaramia, Mamuka Khazaradze, and Badri Japaridze - stand accused of high crimes against the state for orchestrating a two-year disinformation campaign that began immediately after Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

Imedi TV obtained 36 volumes of evidence per defendant, including intercepted phone calls and protest radio chatter, revealing a coordinated effort to launder fabricated stories abroad and radicalise domestic protests.

Recordings show Khoshtaria boasting of a 100-page dossier split between “verified” and “to-be-verified” documents, while Japaridze confirms Ukrainian diplomats told him proof of drone transit would “unlock EU consensus” for sanctions.

“They said we won’t let Bidzina [Ivanishvili] get away with this. They immediately told us the topics they were interested in - for example, information about Russian businesses opening here, oil purchases, military matters. They wrote down a specific list of questions and told us to provide ongoing information on these topics. We compiled about a 100-page document - some of it we sent for verification, some as confirmed documents, and so on. During the previous visit, about two months ago, they said they were working with the Americans and the British on the sanctions issue… which isn’t easy, since for Americans sanctions are a much broader geopolitical matter - when to start, how to start, whether to start at all, and what internal consequences there might be. This will have a much greater impact than if Ukraine does it. Still, it’s good that the Ukrainians are lobbying this issue together with us. The most important thing is that Ukraine will work with us in the West to get these people sanctioned. In the West, the idea is that before you reach Bidzina, he should be the final target whose sanctioning brings results, not another Lukashenko scenario, where the person is sanctioned but nothing changes. So, increasing pressure is the tactic. When foreigners ask me whether they should fear the consequences, I tell them - don’t start with Bidzina. Sanctioning even one judge or prosecutor will have an effect”, Khoshtaria said.

“What they told me they were interested in was the issue of Iranian drones. These drones have become a serious problem in Ukraine, and the information that they might have entered Russia through Georgian airspace was important to them - they mentioned it themselves. They said that if such a thing were confirmed, it could serve as grounds for reaching a consensus within the EU to impose sanctions”, Japaridze said.

Decoded protest radio traffic further exposes centralised command of street actions, including the October 4 storming of the President’s Palace.

Imedi TV further noted that despite the absence of evidence to support any of the scandalous claims, the Georgian opposition was actively involved in the campaign. Instead of seeking proof, they organised special briefings - for example, alleging that stolen Ukrainian wheat was being sold via Georgia. Soon, fabricated accusations in the disinformation campaign were replaced with calls for sanctions and threats of sanctions.

The first phase of the propaganda campaign ended with European Parliament member Rasa Juknevičienė speaking about sanctions. After that, statements by Eurodeputies and foreign politicians allied with the Georgian opposition spread virally. Dates show that this same campaign also involved fabricated election fraud claims, street radicalisation, protests, and the submission of “blacklists” for sanctions.

The opposition continues to refuse to recognise the legitimacy of the process.

Georgian Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili advised friends of the defendants to await the court’s verdict and reminded the opposition of the Strasbourg Court, where they have lost every case.

At this moment, the court is deliberating on the preventive measures for the accused. The prosecution is requesting bail of one million GEL for Japaridze and Khazaradze. The detained opposition figures will await trial.

The Prosecutor’s Office has handed over around 40 volumes of evidence to the defence in this high-profile case involving eight opposition leaders. Among them are statements made shortly after the outbreak of the war in Ukraine, allegedly aimed at damaging Georgia’s reputation. According to the report, the campaign began with a former KGB official and extended all the way to European Parliament member Rasa Juknevičienė - the full timeline is shown in the report.