The Prosecutor General’s Office of Georgia has opened a criminal case against Giorgi Bachiashvili, the former chairman of a co-investment fund founded by oligarch Bidzina Ivanishvili, for misappropriating a large amount of cryptocurrency and laundering illegal income.
The statement from the prosecutor’s office refers to the stolen 8,253 bitcoins, the value of which at the time of the theft was $39 million ($258 million at today’s exchange rate).
It is reported that in the summer of 2015, Bachiashvili invested in cryptocurrency mining funds mobilized by him personally and transferred by an investor.
“Bitcoin mining services were provided by a foreign company on the basis of a one-year contract signed in July 2015 with an enterprise actually owned by the accused. The contract was valued at $6,305,000, of which $5,000,000 belonged to the investor and $1,305,000 owed to the defendant.
In October 2017, in exchange for the full return on the investment, the defendant misappropriated 8,253.13 bitcoins belonging to the remaining investor, which at that time was worth $39,215,820,” the prosecutor’s office said in a statement.
Criminal prosecution against the defendants was initiated on the facts of illegal acquisition of cryptocurrency on a large scale and legalization of illegal income, which provides for punishment in the form of imprisonment for a term of 9 to 12 years.
According to the website of the co-investment fund, Bachiashvili currently chairs the advisory board of the fund, and until May 2022 was also a member of the supervisory board of the Georgian Stock Exchange.
The organization’s website says that the Georgian Co-Investment Fund (GCF) is a private equity fund whose main goal is to implement investment projects in growing industries in Georgia.
It is further reported that the GCF is considering such investment areas that “will make a significant contribution to the growth and development of the Georgian economy.” In particular, the strategic directions of the fund are: agriculture and logistics, tourism and real estate, energy and infrastructure, and industry.
The fund is focused on the implementation of equity participation from 25% to 100% in projects with a minimum yield of 17%. The minimum total investment for the project is $5 million.
GCF retains ownership in companies for 7-9 years. During this time, the fund implements the company’s investment package through various mechanisms:
Sale of the project to co-partners;
Sale to third parties;
Placement of shares on local and international stock exchanges.
