Georgian authorities announced on Tuesday the arrest of Giorgi Bachiashvili, a former aide to Bidzina Ivanishvili, Georgia’s most powerful figure. Bachiashvili had fled the country earlier this year while on trial for allegedly embezzling cryptocurrency worth over $800 million from Ivanishvili.
Bachiashvili, who claims the charges are politically motivated, was sentenced in absentia to 11 years in prison for defrauding Ivanishvili, a billionaire former prime minister widely considered Georgia’s de facto leader.
Bachiashvili, who previously managed Ivanishvili’s investment fund, denies any wrongdoing and asserts that the case is retaliation for his public support of Ukraine in its war with Russia, a stance that broke with Ivanishvili.
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Georgia’s State Security Service stated on Facebook that Bachiashvili was apprehended near the country’s southern borders with Armenia and Azerbaijan following an anonymous tip.
He is now under investigation for illegal border crossing. Authorities allege that he left Georgia in March by concealing himself inside a car before crossing into Armenia and then traveling to a third country.
Robert Amsterdam, one of Bachiashvili’s lawyers, stated on his firm’s website that Bachiashvili was “forcibly” returned to Georgia and is at risk of torture.
The embezzlement charges stem from a 2015 loan from Ivanishvili’s Cartu Bank, which Bachiashvili sought to use to establish a cryptocurrency mining business.
Transparency International Georgia has stated that there is a lack of evidence against Bachiashvili and that the case appears to reflect Ivanishvili’s financial interests.
Ivanishvili, who is believed to control the ruling Georgian Dream party he founded, has shifted traditionally pro-Western Georgia towards a more pro-Russian stance since the start of the Ukraine war, while also suppressing opposition at home.
In December, the United States sanctioned Ivanishvili for cracking down on protesters who opposed the Georgian government’s freezing of European Union accession talks until 2028.
The billionaire rarely makes public appearances and has not commented on his former aide’s flight or subsequent arrest
