After Georgia’s richest man and the former PM Bidzina Ivanishvili gave his testimony in April 2023 against the CEO of his Co-Investment Fund George Bachiashvili, the prosecution said Bachiashvili convinced Ivanishvili to invest in Bitcoin mining through Bitfury in 2015 and then, when profit amounted to 24, 661.85 Bitcoins in 2017, Bachiashvili defrauded Ivanishvili of USD 40 million’s worth of Bitcoins and hid them in various cryptocurrency accounts.
According to prosecution, the initial investment from Ivanishvili was USD 5 mln; Bachiashvili invested only USD 1,3 million and it was enough to understand that 79,3% of profits would go to Ivanishvili and 20,7% to Bachiashvili. Upon return to Georgia in Summer 2023, Bachiashvili’s property was impounded. On July 6, Bachiashvili was officially charged, and the bail was posted at GEL 2.5 million.
Robert Amsterdam, George Bachiashvili’s lawyer who was the former defense lawyer for Khodorkovski’s YUKOS talked to The Checkpoints.
Elene Kvanchilashvili, Analytics, Author & Host: Mr. Amsterdam, let us start our interview with summarizing the situation around George Bachiashvili.
Look, it’s very simple. In no other country would there be this type of case brought by prosecutors. Mr. Ivanishvili seems to believe he could just make a call to the prosecutors and get them to charge anyone he wants for anything. I mean this case makes no logical sense. It’s very clear only from the documents as an evidence that my client had alone about the respective business in question. It appears Mr. Ivanishvili believes that if you have the misfortune to bank at his bank and you make money he shares in the profit, and if you lose money, it’s all yours. The case itself makes no logical sense. The attack on my client, seems to be about issues relating to Ivanishvili believing he somehow changed by my client’s belief in Western value, by the Instagram post he put up after the Russian invasion of Georgia, and by continued comments from Ivanishvili that somehow the West was behind the problem at Credit Suisse which in fact my client helped to be resolved in Ivanishvili’s favor.
Elene: It seems to me that you are taking more like a political defense line; and Bidzina Ivanishvili’s lawyers stick to business line mentioning some other projects as well – within the Co-Investment Fund - mentioning Mtkvari Hesi and trying to justify why it took 8 years to be interested in this specific case with Bitcoin mining ..
These other allegations with respect to this tunnel issue are a joke. Mr. Ivanishvili was involved in the Board in every decision made. None of this have any relevance to the case. I absolutely do not know what the prosecutors or Mr. Ivanishvili believe that reasonable people would think hearing about these charges. And the fact that Mr. Ivanishvili’s lawyer is out there talking about the charges and members of the government supporting these charges – one cabinet Minister used the term ‘treason’ - I mean this is all a complete joke. All this makes Georgia look like an assault rather than a democracy. I simply don’t get it.
Giorgi Isakadze, Business Morning, Author & Host: Do you know personally Giorgi Bachiashvili? I mean you are talking a lot about him. You are describing him as a decent pro-Western person and my question is: In what situation if so you know him personally – have you met each other? What are your attitudes towards Giorgi?
To be frank, I’ve had something of a long history with Georgia, and yes – I’ve spent time with him and met him. I’ve heard about him through numerous common friends.
Giorgi: What type of history do you have with Georgia?
Years ago I did some work for a Georgian agency. I think it was right before the war. I got to know quite a few people in Georgia at the time and managed to stay in touch with the number of them since. So I guess my relationship with Georgia goes 15 years back. My relationship with the region goes back decades. I’ve spent a lot of time in Georgia, Russia, other countries in the region.
Giorgi: We are aware of that. That’s why my next question is about Bidzina Ivanishvili himself. Have you heard anything about him or maybe you’ve heard about him from a person who’s been your defendant in the previous years – Mikhail Khodorkovsky?
Look, let me be very clear. I cannot fathom why Mr. Ivanishvili is behaving this way. I have never discussed Ivanishvili with Khodorkovsky nor would I ever do that. And I haven’t spoken to Misha a number of years. When you talk about Ivanishvili in Georgia, everything is on the public record: his misuse of state organs – all of this is cited in the EU documents, let alone what you hear from people in terms of Georgia. Nothing about Ivanishvili’s relationship to the courts or prosecutors is new. This is cited. There are EU documents. There are senior people in the EU that have been talking about this for years.
Elene: Then my question to you, Mr. Amsterdam, will be the following: Probably you know about the big influence and you also are talking of this big influence that Ivanishvili has on Georgia – and you also probably know that the mining business very big privileges – it had preferential duties on the side of the electricity; it was much easier to do this business in Georgia than in other parts of the World ..
I think you are incorrect. If you look at Estonia and some other countries you would find that a lot of what Georgia has done is not so unusual. Countries go out of their way to attract this type of investment. And that’s not a part of anything we are dealing with today.
Elene: Okay, let’s not go in comparisons with other countries – although I would argue with the electricity prices on that. But my question is totally different: If this was not also Bidzina Ivanishvili’s business and it was only Giorgi Bachiashvili’s business - would you say that such preferential duties would still apply?
Again, you know, I will tell you that preferential duties to attract are absolutely standard to countries like Canada, Estonia, Finland, Germany. Look at how many billions Germany is handing over to Elon Musk get a battery factory going. This type of procedures are absolutely standard so again, I must be missing something but I don’t see any real connection with that.
Elene: Let me tell you what Bidzina Ivanishvili’s defense says. One of their arguments is that all the risks of starting mining business with this loan was on Ivanishvili since the business was very risky and the only initial investment back then was this loan that Ivanishvili gave to George Bachiashvili. Defense says that this way Bachiashvili cannot be considered as an investor but rather an implementer of the investment plan of Bidzina Ivanishvili – what is your take on this argument: Does it stand your criticism?
There’s a loan document. There is a loan. Period. If you are trying to talk about the Civil Law which is what Ivanishvili has done – he’s taken some argument because he might not have noticed the benefits as my client did and he’s turned it into a Criminal charges. It’s absolutely nothing in respect to the Criminal Law that relates to anything you are asking me or his lawyers are saying. He wants to charge my client with criminal matter that could put him inside jail without even a phone call with respect to the matter that went on 8 years ago. Everybody in Georgia should be horrified at this behavior of this individual. It’s shocking. That’s what’s shocking. Not whether his lawyer is coming up with some new argument to try to justify these outrageous charges.
Elene: People close to Ivanishvili - like his former advisor Khukhashvili – say that with this charges Ivanishvili made disappear his most cherished vision about himself that he is not doing any business in Georgia; that he’s just into a philantrophy; that he’s just a charity man – the image that he had been building very carefully throughout these years. Do you think that George Bachiashvili’s comments on Western values or on War in Ukraine or any political subject would make Ivanishvili leave his comfort zone and leave this shadow of charity that he has been cherishing for so many years?
Well, I will tell you something. A man as successful as Mr. Ivanishvili to behave in this manner and harnest the power of his position to attack an individual without evidence, with only malice and greed as a motivator – I don’t think the word charitable and Ivanishvili should be put together in Georgia again.
Giorgi: Mr. Amsterdam, sir – let me quote you through your twitter account: “If you read, you’ll see that the prosecutor’s office in Georgia is actually acting as one man’s agency”. Just a couple years ago, your defendant was part of Ivanishvili’s Foundation. George, whom we know personally very well was part of that system as well. Do you feel comfortable in this regard that George Bachiashvili was so active that he was assisting Ivanishvili in the case of Credit Suisse?
Again, folks, if an individual fulfills his employment duty and supervises successfully the recovery of moneys that are taken from Mr. Ivanishvili – in the case of Credit Suisse – Mr. Ivanishvili appears to be vindicated with the assistance of my client and the facts and equities on that case are squarely in Ivanishvili’s favor and I would say nothing but compliments to George for handling the recovery of moneys. You know the individual that was involved at Credit Suisse eventually shot himself – behavior of Credit Suisse in that case was outrageous. And the fact that George assisted in the recovery of funds is praiseworthy. That in no way compares to calling up a prosecutor and having criminal charges laid at the foot of someone for the reasons that even today are inexplicable. There’s absolutely no symmetry between the two things.
Elene: Let me continue Giorgi’s line of thought – you mentioned that this pro-western statements on Ukraine, attitudes towards this war led to the charges that Bidzina Ivanishvili himself has enacted against George Bachiashvili. But to be frank with you, Mr. Amsterdam, when you first issued the statement and when you said that it was a politically motivated case – it was quite a surprise. We haven’t heard of any critical comments from George Bachiashvili in years. What you are referring to are those critical comments behind the closed doors?
It’s important that people understand what the Council of Europe and others define as a political prosecution. Sadly, you’re looking at it not in a legal way. To be a political hostage you need to be a victim of a political process which he is. The fact is George has resources that could make him a political opponent and he has views that clearly have in Ivanishvili’s mind, made him a political opponent – opponent in values that completely disagrees with Ivanishvili through comments on the war and Ivanishvili somehow believing that Credit Suisse was some sort of Western conspiracy. You don’t have to be a member of a political party to be a political victim, and I think there’s this misunderstanding of people – you know I represent many political leaders in Africa – but to be a political hostage or political victim doesn’t require you be in active politics. What it requires is for you to be considered by those in power either formally or informally as a political threat. That’s clearly what the perception was of Giorgi.
Elene: So, basically Mr. Amsterdam what you are saying is that when George Bachiashvili became stronger in his business, when his business grew and when his attitudes diverted from Ivanishvili’s – that’s when Ivanishvili started this process and these 8 years have nothing to do with any of the business proceedings – am I right?
You are right.
Giorgi: It’s not a business revenge. It’s a personal revenge based on some political doubts and some political theories, conspiracy that Ivanishvili might have, sir? Am I right?
You are also right. Again, I don’t think that’s all. Because it doesn’t put enough emphasis on the role of the prosecutors in taking up this case or Ivanishvili’s telephone justice. I think Ivanishvili must have a hot line with the prosecutor’s office in a way that I have only seen in a very few countries. Certainly, I’ve never seen that I could remember a private citizen has this much control over the prosecution. I mean in Putin’s Russia – yes. We had telephone justice plus money justice where everything was controlled but Putin was a political leader. In this case that Ivanishvili is propagating there’s none of that. I mean his behavior is more an assault. I don’t really understand to what extent he is allowed to get away with this with absolute impunity inside Georgia but not outside Georgia.
Elene: And the last question probably to wrap up our conversation and thank you for your time – in one of your twitters you said: “The baseless, politically motivated charges brought against George Bachiashvili are very negative signal for rule of law and investment”. Please, elaborate a little bit more on this and we will close our interview.
There is nothing that worries an investor more than seeing a legal system being abused. George is a domestic business player, but a fact that he is targeted in this way on charges that – quite honestly – don’t withstand any scrutiny – when people see this scramble to take a young, brilliant, INSEAD-educated entrepreneur, it’s only a bad sign. It’s only a demonstration of the impunity. and you know I would remind everybody that in number of cases I have been involved – including Khodorkovsky – look what happened to Russia. Look at that economy and look at what’s happened to it. This is a terrible sign, and it is a moment for Georgian business to wake up and demand the end to this prosecution. At the end of the day, the prosecutors actually are civil servants dedicated to the Constitution of Georgia. Somebody needs to remind them. The business community needs to remind them if today it’s Giorgi; who is it tomorrow? Who is it the next day? That is what foreign investors as well as local businessmen will take from that.
