The Tbilisi Court of Appeal upheld the verdict of the Tbilisi City Court and found Giorgi Chikvaidze and Irakli Papiashvili guilty of the group’s prior agreement, using their official position, and misappropriating a large amount of money.
The Prosecution Service of Georgia shared the details of this heinous crime on its official Facebook Page on February 20, 2026, Friday. The Georgian Prosecution Service also shared the glimpses of the signing ceremony along with the details of the crime.
During the court hearing, it was confirmed that on September 10, 2022, Giorgi Chikvaidze and Irakli Papiashvili, through a company subordinate to them, signed an agreement with the affected enterprise for the purchase of a yacht worth 416,700 euros.
Based on the signed agreement, the affected company transferred the full cost of the yacht to the enterprise under the control of the convicted Giorgi Chikvaidze and Irakli Papiashvili.
Nevertheless, the convicted did not deliver the yacht stipulated in the agreement to the affected company, and illegally appropriated the transferred funds – 1,155,019 GEL (equivalent to 416,700 EUR).
It should be noted that by the verdict of the Tbilisi City Court, Giorgi Chikvaidze and Irakli Popiashvili were found guilty under Article 182, Part 2, Subparagraphs “a”, “d” and Part 3, Subparagraphs “b” of the Criminal Code (misappropriation of a large amount of money by a group by prior agreement, using their official position) and the form and length of the sentence were determined as 9 years of imprisonment for Giorgi Chikvaidze and 8 years of imprisonment for Irakli Papiashvili.
Furthermore, it is important to note here that the prosecution did not offer the convicted persons a plea bargain.
