TBILISI, November 4 – Tbilisi City Court held a preliminary hearing Tuesday in a new criminal case against Giorgi Bachiashvili, the former head of Georgia’s Co-Investment Fund, over alleged mismanagement connected to the Mtkvari hydropower plant project.
At the hearing, the court reviewed the admissibility of evidence and is expected to decide whether the case will proceed to a full trial. Bachiashvili attended the session in person, according to BPN.
Prosecutors have charged him under an article of Georgia’s Criminal Code (220-1) which covers failure or improper performance of official duties by a person with special authority resulting in serious consequences. The offense carries a possible sentence of two to five years in jail.
The new indictment adds to a string of convictions for the once-prominent financier. Bachiashvili is already serving an 11-year sentence after being found guilty of embezzling cryptocurrency funds belonging to Bidzina Ivanishvili, the billionaire founder of the ruling Georgian Dream party. He was also convicted in a separate case of illegally crossing the state border, receiving an additional four years and six months in prison.
Bachiashvili, once considered one of Georgia’s most influential investors, led the Co-Investment Fund, a private equity platform established in 2013 to attract large-scale investment into Georgia’s energy, real estate, and agriculture sectors. The fund, backed by Ivanishvili, aimed to support major infrastructure projects, including the Mtkvari hydropower station near Tbilisi.
The Mtkvari HPP project, first announced several years ago, was intended to harness the flow of the Mtkvari River to generate renewable energy for Georgia’s domestic market. The prosecution now alleges that Bachiashvili’s actions as fund director led to financial or operational damage associated with the project. Details of the alleged misconduct have not been publicly disclosed.
The court will next determine whether the case moves to the substantive trial stage, where prosecutors would present full evidence and witness testimony.
Bachiashvili’s legal troubles have drawn widespread attention in Georgia, both for his past ties to the ruling party’s founder and for the scale of the charges against him, which include white-collar crime, misuse of authority, and border violations. Whether the new hydropower related charges will move forward to trial remains to be seen.
