Georgian Fund Manager Walks Free After $40M Bitcoin Heist

Giorgi Bachiashvili, a Georgian-Russian investment manager, has been released after embezzling nearly $40 million in Bitcoin from former Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili. He was sentenced to a one-year suspended term as part of a plea deal that eliminated his exposure for illegal flight.

Bachiashvili managed assets for Ivanishvili's banking firm Cartu and had loaned the Bitcoin in 2015 for a mining operation, but instead embezzled it. He fled Georgia in March 2024 but was arrested at the border with Azerbaijan shortly after.

Prosecutors dropped charges against Bachiashvili's parents, who were indicted for allegedly helping launder $3.5 million worth of Cartu's Bitcoin. As part of his plea deal, Bachiashvili paid a $19,000 fine and cooperated with the investigation.