Businessman Giorgi Ramishvili, also known as "Zarala," the founder and owner of Silk Road Group, was arrested at Tbilisi International Airport while attempting to depart the country.
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According to a statement released by the Ministry of Internal Affairs, a firearm, ammunition, and cartridges were found during a scanner check of Giorgi Ramishvili's hand luggage in the departure terminal.
"It’s determined that this firearm is registered in G.R.'s name, but this individual did not have a permit to carry it," the Ministry of Internal Affairs stated.
The 58-year-old businessman is being investigated under Article 236, Parts 3 and 4 of the Criminal Code, which pertains to the unlawful storage and carrying of firearms and ammunition. The crime is punishable by imprisonment for 3 to 7 years.
Giorgi Ramishvili is also the chairman of the supervisory board of Silknet and the founder of Euronews Georgia. The businessman had planned to build a Trump Tower in Batumi and signed a licensing agreement with the organization of the current US President, Donald Trump, in 2011. However, the deal fell through in 2016.
"After activists, journalists, and political leaders, arrests are now shifting towards big business! Today's latest case is Giorgi Ramishvili – the owner of one of the main internet networks, the founder of Euronews Georgia, and Donald Trump's former business partner!" This was the reaction of Georgia's fifth president, Salome Zurabishvili, to the businessman's arrest.
Ramishvili is the best man of Georgia's former Chief Prosecutor, Otar Partskhaladze, who is sanctioned by the United States.
