Former Georgian PM’s aide flees country after Bitcoin embezzlement allegations

Former Georgian PM’s aide George Bachiashvili has fled the country following allegations of embezzlement related to Bitcoin investments. According to several reports, the Mission Gate founder and venture capitalist has been under trial for allegedly embezzling investment profits.

The latest development comes after a court in Georgia ordered Bachiashvili’s imprisonment for his alleged crimes under his former boss, the former Georgian PM Bidzina Ivanishvili. According to reports, Bachiashvili had been given a bail of about 2.5 million GEL ($900,000), but he violated his bail conditions after he crossed the border into Armenia on March 2.

After an official report by the Georgia Ministry of Internal Affairs, Judge Giorgi Gelashvili upheld the prosecution’s motion to apprehend and hold Bachiashvili in custody, noting that he violated his bail conditions, which call for stringent detention measures.

Former Georgian PM’s aide enters another country

According to local news station TV Pirveli, Bachiashvili has left Armenia, seemingly after his movement was discovered and reported to the judge. The local television station mentioned that he has crossed over to a third country, with the venture capitalist refusing to disclose his current location to Reuters.

Bachiashvili is presently facing allegations of embezzling about 8,253 BTC, carrying out his act between 2015 and 2017. The investor was said to have invested a $5 million loan, which was obtained using Ivanishvili’s funds, into the Bitcoin mining operations at Bitfury.

According to Ivanishvili, he had discussed liquidating the mined Bitcoin in the second half of 2016, following concerns over the volatility of the cryptocurrency market. Reports noted that Bachiashvili repaid the loan to the issuer, the Cartu Bank owned by Ivanishvili, in August and September of 2016. A year later, he transferred about $536,900 in profits to the director of the bank NATO Khaindrava.

Still, Ivanishvili maintains that he was misled by Bachiashvili about the true returns of the mining operations, noting that the mined Bitcoin was worth millions of dollars. In pursuant to that, Bachiashvili was charged under Articles 182 and 194 of the Georgian Criminal Code, which prevents misappropriation of funds belonging to another party and money laundering.

Transparency International kicks against the case

Before the relationship turned sour between both parties, Bachiashvili served as an aide to the former Georgian PM Ivanishvili, who is estimated to own a fortune of about $7.6 billion, or a quarter of the country’s GDP. The PM had been previously hailed by many international organizations as a thoughtful leader, with Transparency International describing him as a “real ruler.” Ivanishvili founded the Georgian Dream Party in 2012, currently serving as the party’s honorary chairman.

However, Transparency International has kicked against the ongoing case, noting that it “clearly and explicitly reflect[s] Ivanishvili’s private financial interests.” The association also said that “weakness of the prosecution’s position and the lack of evidence in this case are so evident that, in any legal system based on the rule of law, such charges would not only be inconceivable but would never even reach court proceeding.”

According to the NGO’s report, the position of Bachiashvili was clear: advising his boss to obtain a loan from Cartu Bank and invest the funds into Bitcoin mining. The organization mentioned that the only non-testimonial evidence in the case are documents that show details of the loan, and a recording of a telephone conversation related to the loan, where Ivanishvili told Bachiashvili to pay a higher interest to secure the loan from the bank.

With those details, the NGO contends that the charges do not have both legal and factual ground, a view also held by the legal representatives of the investor, Amsterdam & Partners, based in London and Washington D.C.

“The State appears to be acting in violation of the law at the behest of the capricious wishes of Ivanishvili,” he said. “It’s not credible for Ivanishvili to claim he’s owed money from an eight-year-old repaid bank loan with no evidence, and then to have the matter pursued with criminal charges instead of a civil case,” senior partner at the firm Robert Amsterdam said at the first hearing in March 2024.

Meanwhile, Bachiashvili could be looking at jail time of up to 12 years if he is found guilty of the allegations, with the investors previously noting that the charges are punishment for his stance in the ongoing Russian-Ukraine conflict. While he has publicly shown support for Ukraine, it has displeased the pro-Russian Ivanishvili.

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