Bidzina Ivanishvili was questioned remotely during the trial of Giorgi Bachiashvili, former head of the Co-Investment Fund, at the Tbilisi City Court. The session was held behind closed doors.

“I don’t know what their strategy is, what they were claiming, I haven’t heard, but I can confirm the fact – and you were all here, I think you saw when the court session began. Initially, several motions were reviewed. It took a little over an hour to question my client. After this time, neither the prosecution nor the defence representatives, including Giorgi Bachiashvili, had any more questions. This indicates that the case is very simple. All circumstances, evidence, testimonies confirm that my client is the investor in this case”, - said Teimuraz Tsikvadze, Bidzina Ivanishvili’s lawyer.

The charges against Giorgi Bachiashvili relate to actions carried out in 2017. According to the prosecution, Bachiashvili only transferred USD 536,900 to the investor instead of the full profit from the invested amount and illegally appropriated the remaining 8,986 Bitcoins belonging to the investor, which at the time of misappropriation was valued at up to USD 43 million.

Bachiashvili does not plead guilty to the charges. This offence carries a prison sentence of 9 to 12 years.