The court hearing of Giorgi Bachiashvili, the former head of the Co-Investment Fund and an accused in the case of misappropriating Bidzina Ivanishvili’s cryptocurrency, is being held behind closed doors at the Tbilisi City Court.

Prosecutor Mikheil Sadrazde filed a motion to partially close the session.

At today’s hearing, the state prosecution is represented by Nato Khaindrava, the current chair of the Supervisory Board of Cartu Bank, who was the bank’s general director in 2015. Also testifying in court will be Khaindrava’s then-deputy, Davit Galuashvili.

According to the prosecutor, the hearing will involve discussions of personal data, specifically agreements between Cartu Bank and its clients, which constitute commercial secrets.

Bachiashvili’s lawyer, Levan Makharashvili, opposed the motion, arguing that it was unsubstantiated. He stated that there was nothing to hide in the case and that there were no legal grounds for partially or fully closing the hearing. He also noted that the discussions would concern loan amounts and interest rates, which are already publicly known.

The defendant, Giorgi Bachiashvili, also expressed his position, insisting that the hearing “must be public.”

However, Judge Giorgi Gelashvili granted the prosecutor’s motion, explaining that certain sensitive issues could be disclosed, necessitating the closure of the session.

For context, the charges against Giorgi Bachiashvili relate to actions allegedly committed in 2017. According to the Prosecutor’s Office, Bachiashvili handed over only $536,900 to the investor instead of the full profit from the investment, while unlawfully appropriating 8,986 bitcoins belonging to the investor. At the time of the alleged misappropriation, the value of these bitcoins was approximately $43 million.

Giorgi Bachiashvili denies the charges against him.

The alleged offense carries a prison sentence of 9 to 12 years.