Member Info for Looed

Ok - ignore the text from the translator - its not from the file I sent him. He meant to say only was I happy with the layout. He apologises to all of us!

The guy I contacted has quoted USD120 and provided a sample from the start of the broadcast -

"The whole state is against one man - Negotiating with judges, political lobbying and government black PR. Perhaps we have come to the scene of a rare and scandalous documentary evidence of how the state machine works to beat the opponent in court.

The secret source provided our journalist Lasha Kveseladze with the business correspondence of RAK and its partners. These letters reveal that RAK's representatives influence the court, put pressure on the opponent by political instruments and try to destroy his reputation with the help of the government's PR PR.

Lasha, Good evening. First of all, let's say in detail what is the dispute? Who are in dispute?

The dispute is between two sides. On the one side is very well known company Rakeen. For a long time, it has been about 10 years since it first arrived in Georgia and started planning and investing. The other side is the former director of its companies, who has been in prison for some time, and now he is deputy of parliament of Georgia.
The details of the dispute will be viewed by the audience in the story.

Between who is the conversation?

Correspondence is between lawyers. There are more than five lawyers, but the main focus is on 5 lawyers, they are the heads of the correspondence, and there are foreign and Georgian lawyers as well. This is on the one hand, Georgian and foreign lawyers hired by Sheikh companies and its current director, and there are other people we can hear about in the story.
And they, therefore, talk about how to win this case. In order to get the information to the viewer, unlike the former director, current director of RAK is former employee of the press service of the Georgian Dream's election office, and therefore, he has the connection with the Georgian Dream.

Where do you suspect that these people were trying to influence the court?

Naturally, the main focus of this correspondence is the court. This is the main topic and there is more than one dispute, more than 10, frankly speaking. And the suspicion comes from the phrases that we have managed to collect. For example, is former judge of Supreme Court able to influence the specific judge or Public Registry? We don’t know whether it occurred or not but there are plenty of such indications and conversations are few in the correspondence."

Anyone know about RAK / Rakeen? Any connection to FRR?

Hi Mills240 - Thanks for the offer. If it's a high price its likely not worth the effort as we don't know if the interview is all waffle or contains anything substantive. I picked this site as you could sent the work in that you needs translating so the pricing should be accurate. I sent an audio version of the interview Keysersoze shared -

- https://www.radiotavisupleba.ge/a/????-????????????-?????????-????????????-??-??????????????-??????/30639322.html

The original movie version was too big as uploads need to be under 100mb. I sent it earlier today so hope we get a reply in the next day or so. I also asked how long such a job would take.

ODR - I have sent an audio file of one of the TV interviews (it runs about 57 mins) to a translation service and asked for a quote. The freelancer was asking for USD12/hour but I have no idea if that is an accurate price or how long they would need to translate a 1 hour show. I will let you now if I get a reply.

I hit post message too early. I meant to end by saying I am making the assumption that the arbitration wouldn't have reviewed or judged on the 1%, so is it a totally separate issue.

We are all focusing on the 1% while the GOGC are focusing on the 99%. If the 1% was never part of the arbitration (which assumes what GOGC are stating is correct), then does Zaza's ongoing war of words only apply to experiences of working with GOGC in the 99%, and costs associated with that. Or is the continued pressure about relations in the 1%. What is the relationship between the Award and the 1%?

There is a Wiki page that discusses all aspects of media in Georgia - its probably pretty much as you would expect.

"Georgia lacks transparency in private ownership of TV stations, including for the main Rustavi 2 and Imedi stations. In 2010, 90% of Imedi was owned by the Georgian Media Holding, a subsidiary of Rakeen Investment, and managed by President Saakashvili's former minister of economy. Balance and neutrality are missing from news coverage, with stations divided between pro-government and pro-opposition camps."

- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Media_of_Georgia#Television_broadcasting

ODR / Zib - I posted this a few days ago about the last appearance. The GOGC statement appeared 1 or 2 days after his youtube interview

"On the face of it this is a youtube channel with a small audience. I am pretty sure this channel is no longer broadcast on TV. However that's not always been the case. I am not too familiar with cut and pasting from google.books so I will paraphrase but there is book that talks about Georgian media and says this about the channel - it was the only independent TV broadcaster. Its licence was restricted to the capital only and the govt tried everything in its power to kill it off. I think the book is from around 2010- 2012 but not 100% sure.

There isn't too much info about this channel and I think it now exists as an online only pro-opposition platform. So while the audience might be small, it obviously gets some form of funding to promote its position. People have talked about FRR aligning with the opposition and this interview would fit with that. Small audience but presumably a highly targeted one."

Thanks so much Keyser - I was just home and you saved me a very long job! I recalled the quotes I reprinted but it was fascinating to read the whole thing again with the benefit of hindsight.

Can anyone recall this article from 10th Sept'19 - its not in the archive. It contains an extensive interview with Zaza. The article is titled "Co-owner of Frontera Zaza Mamulashvili: we understand why the Ukrainian government was critical of us". It is out of date now but its unlike any interview I have read by Zaza. He talks about his background in medicine, how FRR came about and the political heavy hitters involved, about deals that almost happened in Colombia and Bolivia, his involvement in another company that had allegations of money laundering (not by Zaza), and lots about Ukraine and Dolphin Shelf

And then there is this about operations and delisting / relisting -

"When we became a public company, Morgan Stanley brought us to the London Stock Exchange. This was then considered a very successful IPO. In addition to Morgan Stanley, we work with other banks, for example, with JP Morgan, Evercore, Jefferies.
- That is, these financial institutions are ready to give you money?
- Yes.
- Why did Frontera leave the London Stock Exchange in 2018?
“For one reason.” We were underestimated on the stock exchange, so we decided to leave. When the market evaluates us accordingly, then we will return if we want. If not, we will continue to work as a private company.
- Is it true that Frontera annually holds exchange agreements, that is, attracts external money on an annual basis?
- No, this does not depend on the calendar year, but on the availability of the project.
- They say that Frontera lives from project to project: it signs agreements with governments, its shares fly up, it attracts money, but in the end the project does not implement, and then the cycle repeats.
- Let those who talk about this call at least one example when we signed an agreement and our shares went up. This has never happened before."

And

"The amount of gas produced over the period of the existence of Frontera blocked at least half of the amount of money invested by it, that is, at least $ 700 million?
- More than 700. Azerbaijan and Bolivia were profitable projects. In Georgia, we are still in the red: we invested about $ 500 million, and we extracted $ 100-120 million. However, what we found there will cover the investment by orders of magnitude.
- What are the financial results of Frontera for 2018?
- Somewhere 1.2 million dollars in profit."

I think we have seen some bits of these quotes before but no the rest?

Have we seen this interview before? Its pages and pages long so didn't want to post if its already been shared.

Hi MadP - if my theory (well its not really my theory, I am just seeing how the most recent evidence might support this) is right, I wonder what all the noise is about. If both sides are happy (fiscal penalties aside) then why keep fighting in public. If it is about the money there are various amounts being bandied about. From USD$200K (FRR) to USD6m plus costs (GOGC). I think the earlier claim from GOGC that ranged from USD70M to USD100m+ has gone away? I put some theories relating to the noise earlier and hoped FRR have an ironclad deal if we really have retained the 1%. Maybe poking the bear and trying to give it a cuddle at the same time is a workable strategy.

Same title but a slimline variation on the article R8pilot shared. Both articles are a rehash of the latest GOGC statement. I am going to take it as supporting my earlier theory.

"Georgian oil and gas companies call on Frontera not to politicise legal dispute"

https://en.allmedia.news/sazogadoeba/52997-georgian-oil-and-gas-companies-call-on-frontera-not-to-politicise-legal-dispute/?doing_wp_cron=1590883735.6865758895874023437500

Sorry I wish I had started this under a different thread.

And I should have mentioned I am not claiming anything new - we have discussed this type of thing endless amounts of times. It's just that for me it came together a bit more solidly over the past few days .

Pt.2

From GOGC - You get all the land back, you want to develop it - and now all this political drama unfolds? FRR still pulling some strings? An attempt to delay pro Eastern companies moving in until a Western friendly govt take over? Anger that FRR are not paying the penalties and complaining about a contract the termination of which they have already complied with? That this blummin Yankee company didn't have the good manners to thank and grovel to GOGC - and therefore GD - for allowing them to continue to operate and despite their poor record and performance which was noted via the Award? Still trying to work this one out.

5- I think GOGC anger now is over the small details and unwillingness to play by Zaza. If - and its a big if - I am right that the 1% is still with us then he better have a water tight deal to prevent more action from GOGC.

6- The asset and its move. That was deemed illegal by the GOGC's interpretation but wasn't mentioned in the latest statement. If FRR still have the 1% - does the asset still exist? Wasn't it already broken up by the Award?

7- This is a creaky theory and full of holes but I am going to run with it until anyone can show the weakness and flaws in it. Hopefully we can find more evidence to confirm / refute or send us in another direction soon

Hi Ziggy - I posted a bit on it yesterday. I am going to adopt this maybe simplistic view with the caveat that there is still much to be figured out. I am basing this on my interpretation of the most recent statements by GOGC and Zaza.

Pt.1

I am going to go point by point to see if it flows in a plausible way

1- The termination of the PSA is complete. Zaza says the land was returned 3-4 week ago, and that roughly lines up with the date the termination was issued. In fact FRR returned the land almost as soon as the Termination was issued. The return of the disputed land was I presume already agreed by Arbitration - hence both sides being "happy" with the outcome which they have both stated. I am going to assume all the noise about "They can't terminate the agreement" was because the Award sits above the PSA so in essence, there is no PSA to terminate. The issuance of the termination might indicate that FRR where dragging their feet and this was a push - FRR do seem to have returned the land ASAP rather than wait to 27 July.

2 I said this yesterday and I today I still see it in the same way. The most important part of the GOGC statement was the final part -

"From the beginning of the proceeding, GOGC committed to honor and respect any award rendered by the Arbitral Tribunal, and to refrain from unilaterally exercising rights under the PSC pending the final arbitration award. Moreover, the original PSC had a 10-year exploration period that was extended twice to a total of 20 years, which expired in November 2017, thus triggering FRGC’s obligations to relinquish the exploration territories located outside the existing Exploitation/Development Area. The allegations as if SAOG and GOGC were eager to take control of these exploration territories are thus nonsensical."

My - hopeful - read of that is that the developed areas had never been part of the land under Arbitration. They stay with FRR.

3 We did have statements from GOGC stating the PSA had been terminated in relation to the whole contract area. Thats not mentioned in the most recent release. Its a big leap of faith but I think it means the 1% is still in play, not just because its not mentioned, but because the PSA is no longer fit for purpose and no longer reflects the reality on the ground (I wish I had more to back this up)

4 So why all the noise? Both sides have to accept the Award, FRR keep the land they want, there are some financial penalties to be settled presumably to a timetable set out in the Award. This is where my thinking gets a little shaky.

From FRR side - Keep Hope guessing? Finances are terrible so pressure is needed to get GOGC back to the table? The much rumoured SM / backer / some other party wants to keep things quiet until other legal issues are resolved? Political manoeuvres back in USA ? None of the above?

Ziggy & Seeingred _ I am writing my reply now but want to lay it out point by point so I still think it makes sense so please give me a little time. But I think whats happening is very positive for us. Let me crack on with my fuller reply

Seeingred - The Arbitrator won't issue a statement. Either side (or both i suppose) have 30 days to seek a clarification from the date of the award, and the Panel have 30 days to review, revise and publish. Neither side has any duty to advise this has happened or the result, but it would be nice it did happen.

I don't think a statement from both sides is needed anymore based on the GOGC statement and the latest from Zaza.

Seingred - absolutely. I agree state to state actions can include propaganda. Scripts is saying the opposite.He is suggesting is that Zaza has actually played the Americans with the fake news that FRR won. That Zaza has managed to bend and coerce the highest levels of US Govt to his will with a fake news propaganda war. At the same time Zaza will cause the downfall of GD by withholding the agreement.

Scripts it still not making much sense to me. You seem to be saying "Everything GOGC have said is true, the Award found in their favour etc, but they won't push for publication as it will prove that everything is actually false"

Toatie - yes that's a possibility. Like a court cases, you would think both sides would get to see all the information / evidence from the other side. Perhaps Arbitration is different in some way. I think Mole posted that all info is shared anyway as GOGC are 50% partners in the FRR Georgia. If I have time I will dig it out.