Israeli Businessmen Convicted of Bribery in Georgia

Israeli citizens Ron Fuchs and Zeev Frankiel were convicted of offering a $7 million bribe to Deputy Georgian Finance Minister Avtandil Kharaidze in October 2010, in exchange for dropping plans to protest the decision of an international arbitration court. The defendants were sentenced to seven and six years in prison, respectively, and fined. Defense lawyers say their clients were ensnared in a plot orchestrated by senior government officials trying to avoid an arbitration payment of $90 million. The 2010 arbitration award was related to an oil pipeline development contract, concluded in early 1990s and later unilaterally terminated by the Georgian government. http://uk.reuters.com/article/2011/04/01/uk-georgia-israel-trial-idUKTRE7303ZM20110401 http://liveshots.blogs.foxnews.com/2011/01/18/israeli-businessmen-on-trial-in-tbilisi/ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oqqur2X8LN4 (video, undercover footage)