Georgian PM on businessman Bachiashvili’s abduction claims: “even Mossad would envy such masterstroke”

Prime Minister of Georgia Irakli Kobakhidze has dismissed as fanciful recent claims of businessman Giorgi Bachiashvili, who alleged he was abducted abroad and forcibly returned to Georgia on the orders of Bidzina Ivanishvili, a Georgian billionaire and ruling party founderi. While stopping short of confirming or denying the allegations, Kobakhidze mused that such an operation would be so impressive that “even Mossad would be envious.”

“Even if we imagine such an operation theoretically,” Kobakhidze said, “it would be fully within the law. When someone has been sentenced to 11 years in prison and is captured in the course of such an operation, the law is being enforced from start to finish.”

He added: “If this truly happened, I don’t know, but in that case, not only would compliments be deserved—those who carried out the operation should receive an Order of Honor.”

Bachiashvili, a former close associate of Bidzina Ivanishvili, fled Georgia earlier this year after being convicted in absentia of embezzling nearly $43 million from a cryptocurrency investment allegedly tied to Ivanishvili. He was sentenced to 11 years in prison. The case was launched in 2023 after a complaint by Ivanishvili, founder of Georgia’s Co-Investment Fund and the ruling Georgian Dream party’s honorary chair.

While in hiding, Bachiashvili publicly accused Ivanishvili of undermining Georgia’s democratic future and aligning the country with Russia to maintain control. He warned that Ivanishvili had become a liability for Georgia’s Euro-Atlantic aspirations, particularly after it became clear that the EU would not accept Georgia under his shadow rule.

On May 26, Georgia's law enforcers released information that he was detained near the so-called Green Border between Tsiteli Khidi and Sadakhlo based on an anonymous tip. However, Bachiashvili stated at the court that he was abducted directly from a lobby of a hotel in Abu Dhabi, where he had arranged to meet a local lawyer. According to him he was kidnapped on May 24, blindfolded for two days, and returned to Georgia aboard an Airzena Bombardier aircraft without any legal extradition procedure or access to a lawyer or family.