Prepared by Messenger Staff
Tbilisi Court Sentences Bachiashvili to Additional Prison Term in Border Crossing Case
The Tbilisi City Court has sentenced Giorgi Bachiashvili, the former director of the Co-Investment Fund, to four years and six months in prison for illegally crossing the Georgian border.
The ruling was issued by Judge Jvebe Nachkebia, who combined the new sentence with an earlier 11-year prison term handed down in a separate case involving the embezzlement of cryptocurrency belonging to Bidzina Ivanishvili, the founder of the Georgian Dream party.
Co-defendant Shota Karumidze, who was accused of transporting Bachiashvili to Armenia, received the same sentence of four years and six months.
Bachiashvili had fled Georgia before the earlier 11-year sentence was announced. In the current proceedings, he was charged under Part 1 of Article 344 of the Criminal Code for illegal border crossing.
During his final speech to the court, Bachiashvili declared his innocence and claimed the case was politically motivated. "I am not guilty. I have served my country all my life. I was abducted, and the investigation launched against an abducted person cannot be legal," he said. He added that all investigations against him were "revenge" and also criticized the charges against his parents.
"The investigation launched against my parents also serves this purpose. They have been portrayed as criminal offenders. My father, who is a surgeon, helped people, and my mother is a well-known family doctor. This is indecency. This has nothing to do with humanity," Bachiashvili told the court. He also expressed doubt about judicial independence but urged Judge Nachkebia to be objective.
Separately, Judge Eka Barbakadze has ordered pre-trial detention for Bachiashvili's parents, Marina Ramazashvili and Aleksandre Bachiashvili, who are not currently in Georgia.
According to the Prosecutor's Office, the couple is accused of assisting their son in legalizing illegal income. Prosecutors allege that from 2017 to 2023, Bachiashvili laundered assets worth 2,944,957 USD and 1,097,187 GEL with their help.
Two Arrested in Large-Scale Fraud Case Involving School and Kindergarten Projects
The Investigation Service of the Ministry of Finance of Georgia announced that two individuals have been detained on charges of misappropriating state property and laundering illegal income.
According to the agency, the case involves 12 public tenders with a combined value of 94,444,427 GEL. The tenders concerned the construction and rehabilitation of 30 kindergartens and four schools.
Officials said the defendants, identified as A.B. and B.B., acted through the company Lagi Capital. In 2023, the firm won 11 tenders issued by the Municipal Development Fund for kindergarten rehabilitation projects. "As of today, construction work has not been completed on any of the facilities," the agency reported.
In addition, investigators said the company signed an agreement with the Educational and Scientific Infrastructure Development Agency to build one school in Gori Municipality and three schools in Khashuri Municipality. "In this case, no schools have been built," the statement noted.
The investigation is proceeding under Parts 2 and 3 of Article 180 and Parts 2 and 3 of Article 194 of the Criminal Code of Georgia. The charges carry prison terms ranging from nine to twelve years.
Authorities also confirmed that the inquiry is ongoing. "The investigation continues intensively in order to identify other persons who participated in the crime, including current and former public officials, and to prevent other criminal facts in the financial and economic sphere," the ministry stated.
