George Bachiashvili – the venture capitalist and founder of Mission Gate – has been sentenced to prison in Georgia. The former Georgian prime minister Bidzina Ilvanisvili was on trial at that time for embezzling investments profits.
Bachiashvili was previously granted bail of 2,5 million GEL (900,000 dollars), but according to the Georgian Ministry of Internal Affairs the investor crossed into Armenia in violation of the conditions of the bail on March 2.
The judge Giorgi Gelashvili upheld the prosecution’s request to keep Bachiashvili behind bars as a consequence, stating that the violation of bail justifies a stricter detention measure.
Georgian Television Channel TV PirveliBachiashvili is now in a third nation, but the entrepreneur has declined to reveal its identity. Reuters The current location of the author.
He’s accused of embezzling 8,253.13 BTC between 2015 and 2017, having invested a $5 million loan—secured using Ivanishvili’s personal funds—into Bitcoin mining operations via Bitfury.
Ivanishvili says that after a conversation about the stability on the cryptocurrency market, he and Bachiashvili agreed to liquidate all the Bitcoin mined in the second half 2016.
Bachiashvili repaid the loan to the issuer—the Ivanishvili-owned Cartu Bank—in August and September of 2016, and then roughly a year later, transferred $536,900 in profits to the bank’s director, Nato Khaindrava.
Ivanisvili, however, claims Bachiashvili has misled him regarding the real returns of the mining operation and that Bitcoin mined by the company was worth millions.
Bachiashvili has been charged with violating Articles 182 & 194 Georgian Criminal Code which are against misappropriating another person’s property & money laundering.
Bachiashvili used to be an adviser of Ivanishvili. Ivanishvili is believed to own an estimated $7.6 Billion, which represents a quarter Georgia’s GDP.
Ivanishvili is often referred to as the “real ruler” Transparency International rated him the highest-ranking official in Georgia, despite having been elected as president of its ruling Georgian Dream coalition party and founded it in 2012. “honorary chairman.”
Transparency International also asserted that the charges against Bachiashvili are unfounded. “clearly and explicitly reflect[s] Ivanishvili’s private financial interests,” Then, there is the “weakness of the prosecution’s position and the lack of evidence in this case are so evident that, in any legal system based on the rule of law, such charges would not only be inconceivable but would never even reach court proceeding.”
The NGO, in a report about the case, notes Bachiashvili’s view, that Ivanishvili merely advised him how to get a Cartu Bank Loan, whereupon Bachiashvili would invest the loan for Bitcoin mining.
In the case, the only non-testimonial proof is a collection of documents relating to the loan and an audio recording from a phone conversation in which Ivanishvili tells Bachiashvili that he can overcome the doubts of the bank by paying a higher interest rate.
Transparency International has concluded that Bachiashvili’s charges are unfounded. “devoid of both legal and factual grounds,” a view shared by the investor’s legal representatives, the London- and Washington D.C.-based Amsterdam & Partners.
Robert Amsterdam, Senior partner, spoke at the hearing’s opening in March of 2024 and described the case as “a travesty” The right to due process
“The State appears to be acting in violation of the law at the behest of the capricious wishes of Ivanishvili,” He said. “It’s not credible for Ivanishvili to claim he’s owed money from an eight-year-old repaid bank loan with no evidence, and then to have the matter pursued with criminal charges instead of a civil case.”
If found guilty, Bachiashvili could face up to twelve years of imprisonment.
The charges, he said, were intended to punish him for publicly backing Ukraine during its conflict with Russia. He believes that this has upset the pro-Russian Ivanishvili.
Andrew Hayward edited the book
