Tbilisi court remands businessperson and ex-Georgian Dream supporter to pre-trial detention

Tbilisi City Court remanded businessperson Giorgi Chikvaidze to pre-trial detention as part of a case related to embezzlement and misappropriation of funds. He had recently been actively criticising the ruling Georgian Dream party, and threatened to expose them.

Chikvaidze, who was involved in the yachting industry, is accused of deceiving Adjara-based businessperson Elguja Turmanidze, for whom he was supposed to bring a yacht from Italy. According to the prosecution’s version, Chikvaidze ultimately neither delivered the yacht nor returned the money paid by Turmanidze.

Turmanidze’s lawyers filed a complaint against Chikvaidze and his business partner Irakli Papiashvili in January 2024. The criminal article under which they were charged carries a prison sentence of up to 12 years. Until Tuesday, both were free on bail, set at ₾50,000 ($18,000).

Tuesday’s hearing was scheduled after the prosecution requested that defendants’ bail be replaced with pretrial detention. The prosecution argued that they had violated the bail conditions, specifically by failing to appear in court.

The prosecutors additionally argued that the defendants were planning to leave Georgia, pointing out that Chikvaidze was seen near the Sadakhlo customs checkpoint on the Armenian border a few days earlier. Chikvaidze said the prosecution had no evidence of his intention to leave the country, stating that he didn’t even know where the Sadakhlo checkpoint was.

The court granted the prosecution’s motion in Chikvaidze’s case. As for Papiashvili, the judge maintained his bail.

On Tuesday, the Ministry of Finance’s investigative service conducted searches at both Chikvaidze’s and Papiashvili’s homes. After the court session, the police also searched Papiashvili himself, as well as his car, which was parked near the courthouse.

Chikvaidze has denied all the validity of all accusations brought by the prosecution. Before his detention, he appeared on opposition TV channels, claiming that the real reason behind his persecution was the evidence he claimed he had, allegedly proving ties between the current government and Russian intelligence. According to him, he owned both documents and audio recordings to support these claims.

For years, the businessperson had expressed support for Georgian Dream, but last year he openly distanced himself from the party. According to his claims, his disagreement with the government began in 2022 when he refused to help Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska evade sanctions by letting his yacht enter Georgia illegally and then cross into Russia.

Chikvaidze claimed it was after this incident that businessperson Turmanidze, whom he claims is close to Ivanishvili’s family, appeared in his business life. Chikvaidze alleged that Turmanidze tried to involve him and Papiashvili in various criminal activities, including drug trafficking and money laundering. Following this, they decided to terminate the contract with Turmanidze’s company regarding the yacht to be imported from Italy.

According to Chikvaidze, he offered Turmanidze a gradual repayment of the money and even transferred part of the sum shortly after. However, the prosecution still launched an investigation against him.

Turmanidze’s lawyer, Archil Shabashvili, stated in an interview with RFE/RL that the allegations about drugs and money laundering are ‘baseless and unsubstantiated’.

Just a few days before Chikvaidze’s arrest, businessperson Giorgi Bachiashvili — also a former supporter of Georgian Dream and a former partner of the party’s founder Bidzina Ivanishvili — secretly fled Georgia. Like Chikvaidze , he later publicly turned against the ruling party, and later two financial cases were opened against him, both involving Ivanishvili.

Chikvaidze claimed that after Bachiashvili’s escape, pressure on him intensified. He posted numerous videos on his Facebook page, showing — according to him — state security vehicles and individuals following him. OC Media requested a comment from the State Security Service on this matter, but has not received a response as of publication.

In a TV interview given one day before his detention, Chikvaidze said that not only his freedom but also his life was in danger. He claimed he hadn’t yet released some of the evidence against Ivanishvili and the ruling party  in his possession because he wanted certain safety guarantees while in detention.

‘If my life is threatened, I have given direct instructions for all this evidence to be made public on the same day’, he added.

Chikvaidze did not specify the exact content of the materials in his possession but claimed that he had documents the ruling party ‘simply could not imagine’ how they could have ended up in his hands.

As for his past support for the current government, Chikvaidze mentioned his dissatisfaction with the previous government and said that he wanted to stand by Georgian Dream ‘in order to participate in the building of this country’.

According to Chikvaidze, when he supported the ruling party, there were not ‘so many beaten and repressed people’ in the country.

‘When I realised what kind of orders they were giving [to me], everything became clear — that this Russian regime under Ivanishvili has nothing in common with Europe’, he added.

In response to Chikvaidze’s statements about pressure from the authorities, Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze said last year that ‘where there is no evidence, such statements will have no value’.

Tbilisi court sentences former Ivanishvili confidant to 11 years in absentia

Giorgi Bachiashvili’s current location is unknown.

OC MediaMikheil Gvadzabia