In letters sent to Rakeen, and seen by MEED, US law firm Debevoise & Plimpton says it reserves the right to seek “direct redress against any third parties interfering with or in any way jeopardising or prejudicing our clients’ rights” in Georgia.

The dispute centres around an amusement park, Mtatsminda Park, in the Georgian capital Tbilisi, which Rakeen manages.

The ownership of the Imedi TV station, which was reportedly sold to RAK Georgia Holdings, another company thought to have links to the Ras al-Khaimah government, in February is also in dispute.

The park and TV station were seized from local tycoon Badri Patarkatsishvili by the government in November 2007. Patarkatsishvili died in February last year and his widow, Inna Gudavadze, is trying to take back the assets.

Debevoise & Plimpton, acting for Gudavadze, has launched an arbitration case under UN Commission on International Trade Law rules in an attempt to regain control of the assets, or for at least $250m in damages.

Khatter Massaad, executive chairman of Rakeen, denies that there are any problems for Rakeen. “The dispute is between the government and other people,” he says. “We don’t have anything to do with it.”

One source close to Gudavadze says her legal team is trying to establish if Rakeen has any involvement with Imedi TV.