Ivanishvili’s former financial manager tells all — then gets deported from UAE, arrested

Yesterday this very interesting article was published in the Guardian, probably the most detailed commentary so far in English about the Bachiashvili affair and including a rather devastating psychological portrait of Georgia’s de facto dictator, Bidzina Ivanishvili. Well worth a read in its own right: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/may/26/giorgi-bachiashvili-interview-georgia-bidzina-ivanishvili

But strangely enough, today, according to the MIA, said Bachiashvili allegedly turned up wandering around in a cornfield on the Armenia-Georgia border, after which he was detained by security forces. This differs from the account given by Bachiashvili’s associates, who say that he was arrested by local police in Abu Dhabi and deported. Sources: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/may/26/giorgi-bachiashvili-interview-georgia-bidzina-ivanishvili ; https://civil.ge/archives/683774

Very interesting state of affairs, very unfortunate for the poor fellow who chose to play too closely with the dragon. Very unfortunate for Georgia, whose de facto dictator appears to be becoming increasingly unhinged and detached from reality, caring about nothing but the preservation of his ill-gotten wealth.