Ex-aide to Georgia's most powerful man detained after fleeing fraud trial
TBILISI (Reuters) -Georgian authorities said on Tuesday they had arrested an ex-aide to Georgia's most powerful man who fled the country earlier this year while on trial on charges of embezzling cryptocurrency worth more than $800 million from his former boss.
Giorgi Bachiashvili, who says the charges were politically motivated, was sentenced in absentia to 11 years in prison for defrauding Bidzina Ivanishvili, a billionaire former prime minister who is widely seen as Georgia's de facto leader.
Bachiashvili, who used to run Ivanishvili's investment fund, denies wrongdoing and has said the case aimed to punish him for breaking with Ivanishvili by publicly supporting Ukraine in its war with Russia.
Georgia's State Security Service, in a statement published on Facebook, said it had arrested Bachiashvili near the country's southern borders with Armenia and Azerbaijan after receiving an anonymous tip-off.
It said that Bachiashvili was under investigation for illegal border crossing. Authorities have said he fled Georgia in March by hiding inside a car before crossing into Armenia and then moving onto a third country.
Robert Amsterdam, one of Bachiashvili's lawyers, said in a statement published on his firm's website that Bachiashvili had been returned to Georgia "forcibly" and that he was at risk of torture.
The embezzlement charges related to a 2015 loan from Ivanishvili's Cartu Bank, which Bachiashvili had sought to establish a cryptocurrency mining business.
The Georgian branch of anti-corruption watchdog Transparency International has said that there is a lack of evidence against Bachiashvili, and that the case appears to reflect Ivanishvili's financial interests.
Ivanishvili, who is seen as controlling the ruling Georgian Dream party he founded, has steered traditionally pro-Western Georgia in a more pro-Russian direction since the outbreak of the Ukraine war, while clamping down on opposition at home.
In December, he was sanctioned by the United States over a crackdown on protesters opposed to the Georgian government's freezing of European Union accession talks until 2028.
The billionaire rarely appears in public, and has not commented on his former aide's flight or subsequent arrest.
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Newsweek
5 minutes ago
- Newsweek
Exclusive: EU Ambassador Reveals Next Challenges After Trump Trade Deal
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. In an exclusive and wide-ranging interview with Newsweek, European Union Ambassador to the United States Jovita Neliupšienė revealed the next priorities for the 27-member bloc in navigating the challenges associated with the longstanding and evolving partnership with the U.S. and other top geopolitical issues. The conversation comes days after President Donald Trump and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced a historic trade deal, halving the 30 percent tariff rate threatened by the U.S. leader on most EU goods and spurring hopes of re-stabilizing transatlantic ties. Neliupšienė said the deal has helped to achieve a level of "predictability and certainty" in the bilateral relationship. 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European Union' Ambassador to the United States Jovita Neliupšienė speaks at a rally at the National Mall near the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, marking two years since Russia's war on Ukraine, on February 24, 2024.... European Union' Ambassador to the United States Jovita Neliupšienė speaks at a rally at the National Mall near the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, marking two years since Russia's war on Ukraine, on February 24, 2024. More Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP Europe on the Frontlines The EU has emerged as a key player in supporting Ukraine since Russia's February 2022 invasion, sparking Europe's deadliest conflict since World War II. As of this month, the EU and its 27 member states have pledged $180 billion in assistance to Kyiv as it attempts to fend off its great-power neighbor. The number surpasses the estimated $175 billion allocated to Ukraine by the U.S., which, under Trump, has repeatedly expressed skepticism about long-term commitments to the war. 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Fox News
13 minutes ago
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Mamdani blasted by GOP opponent for 'sanctimonious hypocrisy' on police stance: 'Absolute insanity'
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Yahoo
24 minutes ago
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Israeli cyber startup Noma Security raises $100 million in private funding round
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