Giorgi Bachiashvili, the former head of the Co-Investment Fund, has been sentenced to 11 years in prison for embezzling cryptocurrency from Bidzina Ivanishvili, the founder of the Georgian Dream.

The ruling was delivered by Tbilisi City Court Judge Giorgi Gelashvili today.

Bachiashvili received a 10-year sentence for embezzling funds and an additional year for the legalization of illegal income, totalling 11 years in prison.

As noted by the judge, although Bachiashvili was under a preventive measure, he is currently outside Georgia and has evaded justice. This prompted a change in the preventive measures. According to the judge, the court believes Bachiashvili’s participation in the hearing, in any form, would undermine the purpose of the preventive measure.

The prosecution disagreed with the defense’s motion, asserting that Bachiashvili is evading justice.

The bail previously imposed on Giorgi Bachiashvili as a preventive measure was replaced with imprisonment after he left the country.

The charges stem from a 2017 incident. According to the prosecutor’s office, Bachiashvili transferred only $536,900 to the investor from the investment’s full profit, allegedly misappropriating 8,986 Bitcoins valued at approximately $43 million at the time. Bachiashvili denies the charges, which carry a potential prison sentence of 9 to 12 years.