TI: Georgian Airways and Georgian security services involved in abduction of Ivanishvili’s ex-aide
Abduction of Ivanishvili’s ex-adviser
Transparency International Georgia (TI) has published a legal assessment of the abduction of Giorgi Bachiashvili, former chairman of the Co-Investment Fund and ex-adviser to Bidzina Ivanishvili. According to the report, Georgian Airways was involved in the operation.
On 27 May 2025, it became known that Giorgi Bachiashvili, former financial adviser to Ivanishvili and former head of the Co-Investment Fund, had been arrested by Georgia’s State Security Service (SSG) near the Georgian-Armenian border on charges of embezzling up to $42 million.
Bachiashvili’s international legal team claims he was forcibly returned to Georgia and that his arrest was motivated by personal revenge from Georgia’s de facto ruler, Bidzina Ivanishvili.
The case against Bachiashvili was launched in 2023 based on a complaint from Ivanishvili. Prosecutors accused him of stealing cryptocurrency worth up to $40 million. On 6 July 2023, Tbilisi City Court imposed a bail of 2.5 million lari.
On 2 March 2025, Giorgi Bachiashvili secretly left Georgia. The prosecutor’s office declared him wanted. On 10 March 2025, Tbilisi City Court sentenced him in absentia to 11 years in prison over the cryptocurrency case. The former Ivanishvili ally was found guilty of “large-scale embezzlement” and “money laundering.”
It is believed that Bachiashvili was brought back to Georgia on 26 May aboard a VIP flight operated by the airline. The report also highlights Georgian Airways’ connections with the ruling Georgian Dream party and Russia.
What does the report say?
“According to Bachiashvili, Georgian Airways also took part in the special operation to abduct him and transfer him to Georgia. Bachiashvili even named the type of aircraft involved — a Bombardier owned by the aforementioned company. He claims that this was the plane used to bring him to Georgia. The airline, of course, has not confirmed this. However, according to bm.ge, which cites radar tracking data, a Georgian Airways VIP jet landed in Abu Dhabi on 26 May at 12:39 GMT (15:23 local time). The aircraft’s transponder (tail number 4L-TGB) was switched off for two-thirds of the flight and only reactivated 20 minutes before landing over the Persian Gulf.
As a result, publicly available flight data does not show from which country the aircraft departed. At 14:25 GMT (18:25 local time), the plane took off again and once more disabled its transponder over the Persian Gulf, leaving its final destination unknown. These incomplete but still revealing details lend credibility to Bachiashvili’s claim that Georgian Airways may have been involved in the illegal operation to abduct him.
The possible involvement of Georgian Airways in this unlawful operation is not surprising, given the company’s ties to the Georgian Dream government and to Russia.
In July 2023, Ukrainian authorities imposed sanctions on Georgian Airways and its founder, Tamaz Gaiashvili. His brother, Davit Gaiashvili, who owns 80% of the company, was also sanctioned. The move came after Georgian Airways resumed flights to Russia in May 2023, following the Kremlin’s decision to lift its ban on direct flights to Georgia. Tamaz Gaiashvili publicly welcomed Vladimir Putin’s move to restore air links between the two countries. Ukraine’s sanction announcement also noted that businesses owned by the Gaiashvili family provide services to Russian airlines Azimut and Red Wings in Georgia.
On 20 May 2023, Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili announced a personal boycott of Georgian Airways, stating: “This is a company that consistently exploits the situation in the country for profit. It was the same under every government, during the Covid period, and now they want to profit again from a new reality that is unacceptable to much of our population. I will not board their aircraft to avoid enriching a company willing to do anything for money.” In response, Tamaz Gaiashvili declared Salome Zourabichvili persona non grata and barred her from using the airline’s services.
On 12 February 2025, the European Parliament adopted a resolution calling on the Council of Europe and EU member states to impose sanctions on Tamaz Gaiashvili.
The practice of abducting individuals from the territory of another country is a common feature in the history of authoritarian and dictatorial regimes. In Georgia, this first occurred with Azerbaijani journalist Afgan Mukhtarli, which caused an international outcry and ultimately led to a ruling by the Strasbourg court.
The Bachiashvili case appears to be a continuation of this harmful practice. The version of events presented by the Georgian Security Service is unconvincing. A person who was threatened with death in prison and therefore fled the country to escape Ivanishvili’s so-called ‘justice’ would not be strolling near the Georgian border.
What is alarming is that the scale of Ivanishvili’s unlawful activities extends beyond Georgia’s borders and jurisdiction. In order to exact revenge on a personal opponent, he involved not only Georgian state structures, but also the intelligence services of foreign states and private companies,” Transparency International’s legal assessment reads.
