The Communications Commission has once again deemed Caucasus Online to have violated the law and set the deadline of 29 April 2022 for the company to reverse the unlawful sale of 100% of its shares to Nasib Hasanov. 

The Commission had earlier instructed the company to reverse the sale of shares by 31 December 2021, but this obligation was not met. 

The shares in Caucasus Online were first sold in 2019, bypassing the law. Since then, the Communications Commission has consistently instructed the company to return its shares to the pre-sale status quo. The company first unlawfully sold 49% of its shares, and later the remaining 51%. Although the Commission has fined Caucasus Online on several occasions for the unlawful sale of the 49% stake and instructed it to reverse the sale, the company never complied with the decisions of the Commission.  In 2021, it transpired that the company had once again violated the law by selling the remaining 51% of company shares without the Commission’s approval. 

Caucasus Online was first ruled to have violated the law by selling its shares without prior authorisation on 17 October 2019 and instructed to return the shares to the pre-sale status quo. For failing to comply with the aforementioned instructions, administrative measures were taken against Caucasus Online on several occasions since 17 October 2019. More specifically, the Commission fined the company GEL 30,000 on 12 December 2019, GEL 90,000 on 6 February 2020, and three sums of GEL 270,000 on 12 March, 25 June and 20 August 2020. On 1 October 2020, in accordance with Article 461 of the Law of Georgia on Electronic Communications, a special manager was appointed at Caucasus Online.  The company was further deemed to have violated the law on 20 May and 15 October 2021, receiving deadlines to reverse the sale of shares. However, the company has yet to comply with the law and the decisions of the Commission.