Authorities have announced the arrest of Giorgi Bachiashvili, a former close associate of Bidzina Ivanishvili, the founder of Georgia's ruling party, near the borders of Armenia and Azerbaijan. This comes less than three months after Bachiashvili secretly fled the country amid a criminal prosecution that he claims is politically motivated.
On May 27, Georgia's State Security Service reported that Bachiashvili was detained the previous day following an anonymous tip about his location. It remains unclear why he was in the border region after leaving Georgia.
Robert Amsterdam, a UK-based attorney representing Bachiashvili, stated that he "faces an immediate risk of torture" following what they described as his "forcible return" to Georgia. A Tbilisi court had convicted Bachiashvili of embezzlement and money laundering, sentencing him in absentia to 11 years in prison shortly after his departure.
For more than ten years, Bachiashvili was a close ally of Ivanishvili, the billionaire businessman who became prime minister from 2012 to 2013 after his Georgian Dream party won the elections. Ivanishvili is still widely regarded as the de facto leader of the South Caucasus nation. However, the two had a falling out, leading to legal action against Bachiashvili in 2023, initiated by a statement from Ivanishvili.
Prosecutors accused Bachiashvili, the former head of a private equity fund established by Ivanishvili and a former deputy CEO of Georgia's sovereign wealth fund, of misappropriating nearly $40 million in cryptocurrency. He was released on bail of 2.5 million lari (approximately $912,000) in July 2023. In early March of this year, he managed to evade surveillance and flee Georgia. According to Georgian police, Bachiashvili crossed the border into Armenia, hiding in a concealed space between the back seat and the trunk of a dark-colored Toyota Camry.
In an interview with The Guardian on March 26, Bachiashvili described himself as Ivanishvili’s “right-hand man” prior to their fallout. He claimed that Ivanishvili “will sacrifice the land and any interests for his personal wellbeing and security.” A statement from Amsterdam & Partners alleged that Bachiashvili has become the target of a growing campaign of political persecution led by Bidzina Ivanishvili. There was no immediate response from Ivanishvili. Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze, a supporter of Ivanishvili, expressed gratitude to the State Security Service for their "successful and proper conduct of the operation" during a press briefing on May 27. He refrained from commenting on Bachiashvili's presence in the border area.
