Ex-Investment chief linked to Ivanishvili detained after “forcible return” to Georgia

Giorgi Bachiashvili, the former head of Georgia’s Co-Investment Fund and a former close associate of billionaire and ex-Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili, has been detained by Georgian authorities following what his legal team describes as a “forcible return” to the country.

The State Security Service of Georgia announced his arrest on Tuesday, saying that he was apprehended near the so-called Green Border between Tsiteli Khidi and Sadakhlo after receiving an anonymous tip-off the previous day. 

Bachiashvili, a dual citizen of Georgia and Russia, had been convicted in absentia in March and sentenced to 11 years in prison in connection with a major cryptocurrency fraud case. Prosecutors accuse him of misappropriating over $39 million in digital assets and laundering illicit funds. He fled the country earlier this year, prompting an international manhunt.

The Co-Investment Fund, which Bachiashvili once led, was founded by Ivanishvili, the founder and current honorary chair of the ruling Georgian Dream party. The case against Bachiashvili was initiated in 2023 following a complaint by Ivanishvili. 

His international legal team has denounced the detention as politically motivated, accusing Georgian authorities of abusing international legal processes to target a government critic.

“Bachiashvili is the target of an orchestrated campaign by the de facto ruler of Georgia, Bidzina Ivanishvili,” the lawyers claimed, warning that Bachiashvili now faces a serious risk of torture and ill-treatment.

In addition to the cryptocurrency case, Bachiashvili faces charges of illegal border crossing and alleged misconduct related to the Mtkvari HPP hydroelectric project during his tenure at the fund.