Ivanishvili former financier, ex-investment fund head defends parents against money-laundering charges

Former head of Georgia’s Co-Investment Fund, Giorgi Bachishvili, has described criminal charges brought against his parents as “absurd” and “shameless,” saying they amount to retaliation against him.

Bachishvili’s parents are accused of money laundering, and if convicted, face between seven and twelve years in prison. The former fund chief spoke during a court session on 30 September, where he delivered his final statement in a trial concerning his alleged illegal border crossing.

“My actions were dictated by extreme necessity,” Bachishvili told the Tbilisi court. “The apartment bought seven years ago and the car purchased four years ago are now being treated as part of a money-laundering scheme. My 75-year-old father, a surgeon, and my 65-year-old mother, an ophthalmologist, are being turned into criminals. This is absurd and shameless.”

Bachishvili, who has already been sentenced over a separate cryptocurrency case involving Bidzina Ivanishvili, the founder and honorary chair of the ruling Georgian Dream party, to 11 years in prison, left Georgia in March 2025. Prosecutors alleged he crossed the Armenia-Georgia border illegally on 2 March, after months of preparation. His lawyer, Levan Makharashvili, argued that Bachishvili acted out of necessity to protect his life, citing a prison attack on 11 July 2025 that left him seriously injured.

“His departure was not an attempt to evade justice,” Makharashvili said. “He used a legal passport and was legally present in the country from which he was ultimately kidnapped and returned to Georgia. He had no other choice but to leave.”

Bachiashvili was sentenced to four years and six months in prison for illegal border crossing later on Tuesday.