Lawyer warns of former Georgian Co-Investment Fund chief assassination threat

Robert Amsterdam, the lawyer representing Giorgi Bachiashvili, former head of Georgia’s Co-Investment Fund, has issued a public statement warning of a possible plot to assassinate his client. In a release published on April 23, Amsterdam—known for previously defending Putin’s opponent, Russian businessman Mikhail Khodorkovsky—claimed that two foreign intelligence agencies had provided credible information suggesting a threat to Bachiashvili’s life. While no specific source was disclosed, Amsterdam urged international authorities to ensure his client’s safety and investigate who may be behind the alleged conspiracy.

According to the lawyer, Bachiashvili’s legal troubles and growing political tension in Georgia may be motivating factors.

“We believe that the Georgian authorities would engage in virtually any level of violence necessary to achieve their objectives of eliminating all credible political opponents and critics of the regime,” the statement released by the lawyer reads.

Amsterdam also stressed that Bachiashivili, after insisting on staying in Georgia to defend himself against absurd charges, was forced to flee “when it became obvious that even the most obviously exculpatory evidence put the Georgian court would be rejected in the pre-programmed proceedings of a judicial system marked by international criticisms and the sanctioning of judges by the United States.”

Bachiashvili has been convicted in absentia and sentenced to 11 years in prison over a high-profile cryptocurrency case involving nearly $40 million in Bitcoin, which ruling party founder and millionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili claims was misappropriated. He also faces two other criminal cases—one concerning the failed construction of the Mktvari Hydropower Plant, and another for illegally crossing the border after he fled Georgia in early March, days before his sentencing. His legal team argues that some of the charges are outdated and politically motivated.