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.
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The first-ever “WUF13 NGO Forum” in the history of the World Urban Forum (WUF) was held on 19 May 2026 at Azerbaijan’s initiative in Baku.
Germany will deploy a Patriot air-defence battery to Türkiye in the coming weeks as part of a NATO mission aimed at strengthening the alliance’s south-eastern flank, German officials have said.
Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has called for closer security coordination between Central Asia and China, warning that expanding trade and infrastructure links are exposing the region to increasingly sophisticated cross-border threats.
A new United Nations report unveiled at the 13th Session of the World Urban Forum (WUF13) in Baku warns that the global housing crisis is worsening rapidly, with nearly 40% of the world’s population living in inadequate, unsafe or unaffordable housing.
The World Urban Forum (WUF13) continues in Baku, Azerbaijan on 18 May, addressing the global housing crisis. The day’s agenda includes the official opening press conference, the WUF13 Urban Expo opening and a ministerial dialogue on the Nairobi Declaration to advance Africa's urban agenda.
United Nations World Urban Forum 13 continues in Baku, Azerbaijan on 19 May with sessions and roundtable discussions focused on strengthening dialogue and advancing cooperation in urban development. Organisers say there are nearly 3 billion people globally who face some form of housing inadequacy.
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Monday he had paused a planned attack on Iran after appeals from the leaders of Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, allowing negotiations to continue over a possible deal to end the conflict.
A 5.2 magnitude earthquake struck China’s Guangxi region early on Monday, killing two people and forcing more than 7,000 residents in Liuzhou to evacuate as rescue efforts continued.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared an Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Uganda a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC), warning that the situation poses a significant risk of cross-border spread in Central Africa.
Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has called for closer security coordination between Central Asia and China, warning that expanding trade and infrastructure links are exposing the region to increasingly sophisticated cross-border threats.
Azerbaijan and Georgia have agreed to resume daily passenger train services on the Baku-Tbilisi-Baku route from 26 May, 2026, marking a major step in restoring regional rail connectivity after services were suspended in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Israeli forces intercepted dozens of Gaza-bound aid vessels in the eastern Mediterranean on Monday (18 May), prompting condemnation from the United Nations and Türkiye, while flotilla organisers said several ships continued sailing toward Gaza despite the operation.
Pakistan has deployed around 8,000 troops, fighter jets and air defence systems to Saudi Arabia under a mutual defence agreement, according to security officials and government sources familiar with the arrangement.
Uzbekistan has reported new fraud cases linked to employment in South Korea as investigators continue examining a wider migration corruption scheme estimated to have caused up to $90 million in losses.
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