Georgian Fund Manager Walks Free After Bitcoin Embezzlement

Giorgi Bachiashvili, a Georgian-Russian investment manager, has been released from prison after admitting to embezzling nearly $40 million worth of Bitcoin (BTC) from former Georgian Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili.

Ivanishvili's banking firm Cartu loaned Bachiashvili the Bitcoin in 2015 to launch a mining operation, but instead, he embezzled the coins. Bachiashvili fled Georgia in March 2024 and was arrested at the border with Azerbaijan shortly after.

The court sentenced him to 11 years in absentia, which was later increased to 15 years for illegal flight. However, under a plea deal, his sentence was reduced to a one-year suspended term, and he was ordered to pay a $19,000 fine.