A Georgian-Russian investment manager who stole nearly $40 million worth of Bitcoin (BTC) from one of the country's most powerful political figures has been released under a plea deal that slashed his prison sentence from 15 years to a one-year suspended term.
Giorgi Bachiashvili, who managed assets for former Georgian Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili, admitted full guilt across all criminal charges and agreed to cooperate with investigators, Tbilisi prosecutors said.
He was also ordered to pay a $19,000 fine.
What Happened
Ivanishvili's banking firm Cartu loaned Bachiashvili the Bitcoin in 2015 after the fund manager said he would use the cryptocurrency to launch a mining operation. Prosecutors say he embezzled the coins instead.
Bachiashvili fled Georgia in March 2024 but was arrested at the border with Azerbaijan shortly after. Courts had sentenced him to 11 years in absentia, then added four more for illegal flight. The plea deal eliminated that exposure entirely.
Prosecutors also dropped charges against Bachiashvili's parents, who had been indicted for allegedly helping launder $3.5 million worth of Cartu's Bitcoin.
"Bachiashvili has fully admitted his guilt to all the criminal charges," prosecutors told Georgian broadcaster Channel 1. "He also fully cooperated with the investigation and has paid compensation for the damages incurred."
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Why It Matters
Ivanishvili, widely considered the most influential political figure in Georgia, serves as honorary chairman of the ruling Georgian Dream party and has been described as the country's wealthiest individual.
The case drew attention partly because of his outsized role in Georgian political life, and partly because of the scale of the alleged theft - one of the largest cryptocurrency embezzlement cases tied to a sitting political figure.
The outcome also arrives as Georgia's cryptocurrency sector expands rapidly. Regulatory data shows Bitcoin mining power consumption tripled in the first ten months of 2025, reaching 617 million kilowatt-hours - roughly 5% of the nation's total electricity use. Most data centers operate within free industrial zones in Tbilisi and Kutaisi.
Whether the plea deal reflects prosecutorial pragmatism or political considerations has not been addressed publicly by Georgian authorities.
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