TBILISI, Georgia (AP) — Giorgi Bachiashvili ended nine months behind bars when Tbilisi’s prosecutor’s office approved his plea deal Friday, confirming he admitted guilt, paid damages and secured his release in high-stakes cases tied to Bidzina Ivanishvili.

Opposition channels Formula and Pirveli broke the news first, quoting Bachiashvili’s lawyer. The Prosecutor General’s Office later verified the details to local outlets, stating the agreement covers all charges against the former Co-Investment Fund executive.

Bachiashvili faced accusations of stealing cryptocurrency from Ivanishvili and laundering proceeds. He long rejected the claims as political revenge. Tbilisi City Court hit him with an 11-year sentence in March 2025 on the crypto count. A separate case, unresolved at his release, alleged he botched duties as head of Ivanishvili’s Co-Investment Fund, which the billionaire launched in 2013 after his party’s rise to power.

His lawyer, Levan Makharashvili, told Pirveli TV the deal extends protection to Bachiashvili’s parents. Prosecutors had targeted them for allegedly aiding the money laundering. Those cases now drop entirely, Makharashvili said.

The saga exploded with drama. Bachiashvili fled abroad days before his March sentencing. Georgian authorities arrested him in May — a move he called an abduction. Back in custody as general director of the Co-Investment Fund until 2019, then its advisory board chair, he claimed prison guards beat him brutally in July.

According to Bachiashvili, the prison director, Davit Gogoberishvili, had urged him beforehand to hand over bank details, crypto transactions and wallet addresses to Ivanishvili himself. The State Security Service dismissed it as a hoax staged by Bachiashvili. Gogoberishvili and deputy penitentiary head Giorgi Kemoklidze quit amid the probe.

Tragedy struck in October. Gogoberishvili turned up dead; police opened a suicide investigation. Kemoklidze landed in custody, charged with helping fake the beating.

Bachiashvili and Ivanishvili were tight for years. Their split turned ugly with probes piling up. Announcing his fund exit in March 2025, Bachiashvili cited safety fears. Prison would leave him ‘completely defenceless,’ he warned.

The plea caps a probe that captivated Georgia, where Ivanishvili wields huge sway despite shunning formal office. Critics see the cases as tools to silence rivals. Prosecutors insist they chased real crimes. Bachiashvili’s sudden freedom raises fresh questions about power plays in the South Caucasus nation.

Neither side commented further Friday. Bachiashvili’s next moves stay unclear as Tbilisi’s political tensions simmer.