Tbilisi City Court Judge Giorgi Gelashvili has sentenced Giorgi Bachiashvili, former head of Bidzina Ivanishvili’s co-investment fund, to 11 years in prison in absentia on cryptocurrency misappropriation and money laundering charges, the Court confirmed to Civil.ge on March 10.
According to the Prosecutor’s Office, the court found Bachiashvili guilty under Article 182, Part 3, Subparagraph “c” (misappropriation of a large amount of cryptocurrency) and Article 194, Part 3, Subparagraph “c” (legalization of illegal income) of the Criminal Offense Code.
“The defendant also faces criminal proceedings in two additional cases: failure to fulfill official duties during the implementation of the ‘Mtkvari HPP’ project and illegal crossing of Georgia’s state border,” the Prosecutor’s Office noted in the released statement.
Bachiashvili responded to today’s verdict with a single word – “Shameful.” On March 4 he wrote on social media, that he had fled from Georgia, adding that he was “forced” to leave” the country” to do so. He has directly accused Bidzina Ivanishvili, along with several judicial officials and prosecutors of orchestrating his persecution.
He said that he was “deliberately targeted by Bidzina Ivanishvili and his corrupt machinery,” claiming that his safety was under danger, since Ivanishvili threatened to “crush” him in the prison.
Case Details
As claimed by the Prosecutor’s Office, the case originated in 2015, when Bachiashvili and an investor jointly financed a Bitcoin mining operation. Their agreement stipulated that all mined cryptocurrency would be stored in a company wallet under Bachiashvili’s management, with profits distributed according to investment shares.
The released statement claims that over one year, the operation mined 24,661.85 Bitcoins, with 8,986.86 Bitcoins belonging to the investor. However, in 2017, Bachiashvili allegedly transferred only $536,900 to the investor while unlawfully retaining Bitcoins then valued at over $42.7 million.
The Prosecutor’s Office further argued that Bachiashvili engaged in complex financial maneuvers to conceal the origin of these assets, including transferring funds through multiple wallets, cashing out portions, purchasing real estate, and utilizing various business entities to launder the funds.
Troubled History
Bachiashvili, who previously served as Ivanishvili’s aide and financial advisor before their relationship soured in late 2022, has faced mounting legal troubles. In 2023, he was charged with embezzling bitcoins and ordered to pay GEL 2.5 million (USD 898,000) bail while being barred from leaving Georgia.
In response to the filing of criminal charges, George Bachiashvili’s legal team at Amsterdam & Partners LLP issued a press release denouncing the case as frivolous and politically motivated.
Bachiashvili also said in an interview with TV-Pirveli that the falling-out with the oligarch was partially caused by differences in opinions regarding the West. According to Bachiashvili, when Bidzina Ivanishvili “started to demonize the West and change Georgia’s foreign policy course,” Bachiashvili expressed a different opinion, as he did not agree with the conspiracy theory.
In January 2025, during the court hearing, Bachiashvili alleged that Ivanishvili had sent a mediator, demanding monthly payments in cryptocurrency in exchange for the end of the criminal prosecution of the charges. He repeatedly said that the legal proceedings against him are “politically motivated and are a direct extortion.”
The court proceedings in the case were held in closed sessions due to the sensitive nature of the discussions.
In late February, prosecutors opened another case against him, alleging negligence during his tenure as general director of Ivanishvili’s co-investment fund. The court ordered an additional GEL 50,000 (USD 18,000) bail payment and again prohibited him from leaving the country.
Following the defendant’s departure from the country, the Ministry of Interior issued a statement about opening an investigation on March 5 into Bachiashvili’s border crossing, alleging that he “secretly crossed into Armenia using a special hiding place in his car” on March 2, later presenting “another passport issued in his name confirming his citizenship of the Russian Federation” at the Armenian checkpoint. MIA detained Shota Karumidze for allegedly assisting Bachiashvili in crossing the Georgian border.
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