Ex-aide to Georgia's most powerful man detained after fleeing fraud trial

Giorgi Bachiashvili, who says the charges were politically motivated, was sentenced in absentia to 11 years in prison for defrauding Bidzina Ivanishvili, a billionaire former prime minister who is widely seen as Georgia's de facto leader. Bachiashvili, who used to run Ivanishvili's investment fund, denies wrongdoing and has said the case aimed to punish him for breaking with Ivanishvili by publicly supporting Ukraine in its war with Russia. Georgia's State Security Service, in a statement published on Facebook, said it had arrested Bachiashvili near the country's southern borders with Armenia and Azerbaijan after receiving an anonymous tip-off.