Former Gldani Prison Director David Gogoberishvili has been found dead in Tbilisi. His dismissal comes amid a scandal surrounding the beating of convicted financier Giorgi Bachiashvili, a former advisor to billionaire and founder of the ruling Georgian Dream party Bidzina Ivanishvili, Novosti-Gruzia reports.
According to media reports, Gogoberishvili was found in the garage of his home with a gunshot wound.
The Georgian Ministry of Internal Affairs confirmed the incident. An investigation has been launched under Article 115 of the Criminal Code, which provides for incitement to suicide.
Gogoberishvili and his deputy resigned in August of this year. At the time, the Ministry of Justice suggested that Bachiashvili’s June 11 prison beating was staged: the financier allegedly staged his own beating in collusion with several prison staff and fellow inmates.
Bachiashvili claims he was in solitary confinement, but on June 11, an unknown assailant broke into his cell and attacked him. According to his lawyers, he was unable to walk for several days after the incident and was confined to a wheelchair. The financier also claimed that immediately before the beating, he was summoned to the prison warden, who allegedly demanded access to bank and cryptocurrency accounts in Ivanishvili’s name.
In March, Bachiashvili was sentenced in absentia to 11 years in prison for embezzling up to $1 billion from Ivanishvili’s cryptocurrency investments. He secretly fled the country, but according to authorities, he was arrested at the Georgian border in May. Bachiashvili claims he was kidnapped in the UAE and forcibly brought to Tbilisi, allegedly on the billionaire’s orders.
He denies the charges and claims he is a victim of political persecution for criticizing the Georgian Dream party, which is increasingly aligned with Russia. Meanwhile, the criminal cases continue. Bachiashvili faces another 10 years in prison for abuse of power and illegal border crossing while collaborating with Ivanishvili.