Bachiashvili: Ivanishvili Stole $400 Million from State Through Offshore Law in One Operation

"The law introduced this year, the so-called Offshore Law, was actually passed quietly during the uproar around the Russian Law. In Russian, it was pushed под шумок (in silence). What was the purpose of this law? In 2022 - he mentioned this in a speech - the collection of paintings wouldn’t be brought to me from America or wherever he tried to bring from. Ultimately, he brought a collection worth about $1 billion to Georgia. He didn’t want to pay VAT, property, or profit taxes on these items. This law allows three benefits:

1. Transferred assets are exempt from profit tax. If he sells the collection at a profit in the future, there will be no tax. So, if he were to sell the billion-dollar collection for $2 billion in 5-10 years, the $200 million that should have gone to the budget is effectively taken from the pockets of the Georgian people.
2. Customs clearance and VAT fees - about $180 million per billion dollars - are also exempt, further costing the Georgian people.
3. Property tax, which is 1% per year or $10 million annually, is removed directly from the pockets of the Georgian people.

In one operation, he effectively took around $400 million, or 1 billion GEL, from the state. At the same time, he buys the manuscript of Ioane Zosime to influence the faith of the people, to make them view him positively. This is the kind of philanthropist Ivanishvili is," said Bachiashvili.

According to Giorgi Bachiashvili, Bidzina Ivanishvili is trading away the country’s future today and is determined to maintain his influence.

“He himself says, ‘I have this insecurity, where if my personal interest is involved, I can’t make any decision for the country.’ This is not a insecurity - a person who has been in business for 40-50 years faces what’s called a conflict of interest. When you have such a conflict of interest, you should not be running the country; you should be looking after your money, especially if money and personal interests come before the country. Georgian voters need to understand: we don’t want a ‘insecure’ leader. They should ask themselves if they want a leader who, because of his personal issues, would serve foreign interests instead of the country’s. This is our reality today.

Ivanishvili has been a businessman all his life. Today, his main objective is to maintain the influence and control over Georgia that he has, regardless of the cost. This is his top priority.

Of course, he is trading the future of our country for the return of his money, and naturally, the Georgian people’s interests do not factor into his calculations. Ivanishvili has never put the country’s interests above his own.

He entered politics to solve a personal issue - as he explained, the government at that time had become hostile and distrusting of him because he had stopped funding it. Ivanishvili did not enter politics out of love for the people; this is a big lie,” said Giorgi Bachiashvili.

Giorgi Bachiashvili, who served as head of the Co-Investment Fund from 2013 to 2019, is accused by the prosecutor's office of embezzling a large sum of money. The case involves the misappropriation of 8,253.13 bitcoins and the legalization of illegal income, offenses punishable by 9 to 12 years in prison. According to the prosecutor's office, the value of the bitcoins at the time of the alleged misappropriation was $39 215 820. On July 6, 2023, the court granted Bachiashvili bail in the amount of 2.5 million GEL. He denies any wrongdoing and claims that the only evidence in the case is Bidzina Ivanishvili’s oral testimony.