EnglishThe following press release was distributed to media today.
On Wednesday, March 27th at 1PM local time, the Tbilisi City Court will be holding the first procedural hearing in the criminal case brought by the former Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili against the entrepreneur George Bachiashvili.
Amsterdam & Partners LLP, the international law firm representing Bachiashvili, says that Georgia’s prosecution service is put on notice that these hearings will face intense international scrutiny.
“The Bachiashvili case represents a travesty of due process and prosecutorial misconduct. The State appears to be acting in violation of the law at the behest of the capricious wishes of Ivanishvili,” said Robert Amsterdam, founding partner of Amsterdam & Partners LLP. “It’s not credible for Ivanishvili to claim he’s owed money from an eight-year-old repaid bank loan with no evidence, and then to have the matter pursued with criminal charges instead of a civil case. This case represents an open abuse of the courts and a signal of Georgia’s lacking judicial independence.”
“Nine months have passed since the investigation began, and the prosecution has still has not produced any direct evidence supporting the allegations beyond the testimony of the claimant,” said Levan Makharashvili, Bachiashvili’s Georgian defense counsel.
The hearing on Wednesday will be monitored by international non-governmental organizations, including Transparency International.
George Bachiashvili is one of Georgia’s most successful young venture capitalists and the founder of the investment firm Mission Gate. He was charged with misappropriation and legalization of illegal income related to an investment in cryptocurrency mining in 2015. Amsterdam & Partners LLP underscores his innocence and reserves all rights to seek international remedy.
Amsterdam & Partners LLP is an international law firm with offices in London and Washington DC. More information is available at https://amsterdamandpartners.com/.
