Georgian Fund Manager Walks Free After $40M Bitcoin Heist
Giorgi Bachiashvili, a Georgian-Russian investment manager, has been released under a plea deal after admitting to embezzling nearly $40 million worth of Bitcoin from former Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili. The funds were loaned to Bachiashvili in 2015 to launch a mining operation, but he used the coins for personal gain instead.
Bachiashvili fled Georgia in March 2024 and was arrested at the border with Azerbaijan shortly after. He had been sentenced to 15 years in prison, but under the plea deal, his sentence was reduced to one year suspended, and he was also ordered to pay a $19,000 fine.
The case drew attention due to its scale and Ivanishvili's influential role in Georgian politics. Prosecutors dropped charges against Bachiashvili's parents, who had been indicted for allegedly helping launder $3.5 million worth of Cartu's Bitcoin.