The former CEO of the "Co-Investment Fund," Giorgi Bachiashvili, who was accused of misappropriating cryptocurrency belonging to "Georgian Dream" founder Bidzina Ivanishvili, has been found guilty by the court and sentenced to 11 years in prison.

The decision was made by Judge Giorgi Gelashvili of the Tbilisi City Court.

Gelashvili found Bachiashvili guilty of both charges: the misappropriation of a large sum of money and the legalization of illegal income.

For the misappropriation charge, he was sentenced to 10 years in prison, while for the legalization of illegal income, he received an 11-year sentence. Since the longer sentence takes precedence, Bachiashvili was ultimately sentenced to 11 years in prison.

Notably, Bachiashvili was charged under Articles 182-3 "b" and 194-3 "g" of the Criminal Code of Georgia, which pertain to the misappropriation of a large sum of money and the legalization of illegal income involving particularly large profits.

In total, Bachiashvili faces charges in three criminal cases. A verdict was issued in one case today, while in the other two, he has been sentenced to pretrial detention in absentia.

Initially, Bachiashvili was charged with misappropriating cryptocurrency belonging to Bidzina Ivanishvili. The prosecution states that in 2017, Bachiashvili transferred only $536,900 to the investor instead of the full profit from the investment, while unlawfully keeping 8,986 bitcoins for himself. At the time of misappropriation, the bitcoins were valued at approximately $43 million.

He was initially released on bail of 2,500,000 GEL, with additional restrictive measures in place. However, in this case, his bail was later replaced with pretrial detention. The offense carries a sentence of 9 to 12 years in prison.

Additionally, Bachiashvili has been charged in the "Mtkvari HPP" case under Article 2201, Part 2 of the Georgian Criminal Code, which relates to the failure or improper execution of duties by a person with special authority, resulting in severe consequences. This charge carries a prison sentence of 2 to 5 years. His bail of 50,000 GEL in this case was also replaced with pretrial detention.

Bachiashvili is also facing charges related to the illegal crossing of Georgia’s state border, for which he has been placed in pretrial detention.