Giorgi Bachiashvili, the former head of the Co-Investment Fund founded by former Georgian Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili, has been released from prison following a plea agreement with prosecutors.
Bachiashvili was initially charged in July 2023 with embezzling 8,253.13 bitcoins valued at about $39 million at the time, as well as laundering illicit proceeds. Prosecutors alleged that the cryptocurrency was linked to a project connected to Bidzina Ivanishvili. In March 2025, Tbilisi City Court sentenced him in absentia to 11 years in prison in the cryptocurrency case.
The Georgian Prosecutor’s Office said Bachiashvili had fully admitted his guilt in all criminal cases against him, cooperated with investigators and compensated for damages. Under the agreement, he received a one-year suspended sentence and a fine of 50,000 lari ($18,700). He had already served approximately nine months in detention.
He was also convicted of illegal border crossing and sentenced to additional four years and six months, bringing his total sentence to more than 15 years.
In a separate case related to the Mtkvari hydropower plant project, prosecutors accused him of failing to properly perform his duties, resulting in significant financial losses. That charge carries a potential prison term of two to five years.
In March 2025, Bachiashvili left Georgia while on trial, later stating that he had done so due to security concerns. In May, the State Security Service said he was detained near the Armenian-Georgian border and returned to Tbilisi. Bachiashvili claimed he had been abducted from abroad and forcibly brought back. Authorities denied wrongdoing.
Prosecutors also dropped charges against Bachiashvili’s parents, who had previously been accused of assisting in money laundering.
Bachiashvili served as chief executive of the Co-Investment Fund from 2013 to 2019 and later chaired its advisory board. His legal proceedings have now formally concluded under the plea agreement.
Kazakhstan and Iran have agreed to accelerate cooperation on transport corridors, giving Kazakhstan access to key Iranian ports in a move aimed at str...
A U.S.-Iran memorandum of understanding aimed at ending the war has been signed electronically by President Donald Trump and Iranian President Masoud ...
Thailand is reviving plans for one of its most ambitious infrastructure projects in decades, a proposed $30 billion “Land Bridge” that would conne...
An exiled Russian artist has been shot dead in Poland days after he carried out a one-man protest against Vladimir Putin, featuring a caricature of th...
U.S. Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth has delivered a stark message to North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) allies, warning that some member stat...
Kazakhstan and Iran have agreed to accelerate cooperation on transport corridors, giving Kazakhstan access to key Iranian ports in a move aimed at strengthening trade routes and reducing reliance on transit routes through neighbouring countries.
Thailand is reviving plans for one of its most ambitious infrastructure projects in decades, a proposed $30 billion “Land Bridge” that would connect the Gulf of Thailand with the Andaman Sea and offer an alternative trade route to the busy Strait of Malacca.
An exiled Russian artist has been shot dead in Poland days after he carried out a one-man protest against Vladimir Putin, featuring a caricature of the Russian President as a baby held by the Soviet-era dictator Joseph Stalin.
North Korea has withdrawn its ambassador to the United Kingdom just one month after he arrived in London, in a move linked to British sanctions on a children's camp, according to reports.
Donald Trump has said the U.S. will resume bombing Iran if Tehran doesn't "behave," at the sidelines of the G7 summit in France. Earlier, the U.S. President criticised Israel for its tactics against Hezbollah, saying it was unnecessary to bomb entire apartment buildings to tackle militants.
U.S. President Donald Trump said a preliminary agreement to end the war in the Gulf has been signed by the U.S. and Iran, though details have yet to be made public and both countries said a permanent truce is yet to be negotiated.
A cyber extortion group has claimed it stole more than a terabyte of data from Danish pharmaceutical giant Novo Nordisk after the company allegedly refused to pay a $25 million ransom.
Pakistan's heavy reliance on imported energy was laid bare by the U.S.-Iran conflict, which disrupted regional supplies, drove up costs and exposed vulnerabilities in the country's energy security. However, a proposed peace agreement now offers hope for economic relief.
American technology company Snap has launched its first augmented-reality (AR) glasses for consumers, marking a major push into wearable computing as tech firms race to redefine personal devices in the AI era.
Kazakhstan and Iran have agreed to accelerate cooperation on transport corridors, giving Kazakhstan access to key Iranian ports in a move aimed at strengthening trade routes and reducing reliance on transit routes through neighbouring countries.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres has warned that Israeli settler groups could be added to a global blacklist for violations against children if attacks on Palestinian minors continue at current levels.
Israel approved the expansion of a Jewish school for settlers living in the centre of the Palestinian city of Hebron in the West Bank on Wednesday, in a construction push that Palestinians say violates a decades-old agreement.
Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani has announced that Italy will reopen its embassy in Tehran on Friday (19 June), marking a rare reversal in a period of heightened regional instability and disrupted diplomatic ties across the Middle East.
Uzbekistan unveiled an ambitious investment and reform agenda at the Fifth Tashkent International Investment Forum, bringing together more than 8,300 participants from 100 countries, including heads of state, government officials, global corporations and international financial institutions.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment