Georgia's third president, Mikheil Saakashvili, commented on the news of the release from custody of Giorgi Bachiashvili, the former financier of the founder of the ruling party, Bidzina Ivanishvili, and the former head of the Georgian Co-Investment Fund. He described the case as "a classic example of how a mafia state operates."

Saakashvili noted that "Bachiashvili could not be broken by arrest, persecution of his parents, or beatings until the deputy warden connected to his case was murdered in a garage." The latter, according to the former president, was "the final signal for Bachiashvili: he realized he needed to save his life, and by Ivanishvili's birthday, he had formally capitulated."

"He presented his former patron with $600 million as a "gift," after which he was released under a patently mocking pseudo-legal pretext—a civil settlement agreement. This effectively tells us: register Georgia in the Ivanishvili family's name for 300 years and then go wherever you want. The only positive thing I see in Bachiashvili's story is that his innocent parents will be left alone," Saakashvili wrote on his Facebook page.

At the end of the post, the politician concluded that this was a good lesson for everyone, emphasizing that "in the Bachiashvili case, criminals have once again triumphed over Georgian society."

As a reminder, on February 18, former head of the Georgian Co-Investment Fund, Giorgi Bachiashvili, fully admitted his guilt in all criminal cases and paid compensation for the damages caused. This was reported by the Georgian Prosecutor's Office. According to the agency, Bachiashvili signed a plea bargain for a fine and a suspended sentence and left the penitentiary.

The State Security Service of Georgia arrested Giorgi Bachiashvili last May. He was charged with stealing cryptocurrency from Georgian Dream founder Bidzina Ivanishvili and sentenced to 11 years in prison. In addition, the former financier was sentenced to four years and six months in prison for illegally crossing the state border.

Giorgi Bachiashvili was also charged with "improper performance of official duties, resulting in grave consequences" in connection with the construction of a hydroelectric power station on the Mtkvari River. The relevant article carries a prison sentence of two to five years.

Bachiashvili's trial began in 2023, when Ivanishvili accused him of embezzling nearly $40 million in cryptocurrency. The defendant was banned from leaving the country, and bail was set at 2.5 million lari. Notably, the financier had long been considered one of Ivanishvili's closest associates.

In early March 2025, it became known that Bachiashvili had secretly fled Georgia. On March 10, he was sentenced in absentia to 11 years in prison and placed on the wanted list. On May 1, the court ordered Bachiashvili to pay Bidzina Ivanishvili approximately 9,000 bitcoins, equivalent to more than $850 million at the time.

The fugitive was apprehended at the end of May. According to the State Security Service, this occurred on the border with Azerbaijan, between the Red Bridge and Sadakhlo checkpoints, in the neutral (green) zone. On May 29, at a court hearing, Bachiashvili shared details of his return to the country. According to Bachiashvili, he was kidnapped, "held blindfolded for two days, then loaded onto an Airzena Airlines plane and brought back to Georgia." His lawyers claimed he could be tortured in his home country.