Nana Keinishvili announced her departure from the board of the National Bank of Georgia (NBG) a week after prosecutors announced a probe into alleged illegal business activities, and RFE/RL’s Georgian service published a report suggesting she may have pressured a crypto company into giving up shares.
Keinishvili, a former Georgian Dream lawmaker who was elected as a board member in September 2023, said in an October 17 Facebook post that she made the decision to save “state interests and the reputation of the National Bank” from harm. She also rejected the accusations of using her office “to pursue personal entrepreneurial interests, to gain illegal advantage for any company and to influence the activities of other persons.”
The announcement came a week after the Prosecutor General’s Office said it was investigating Keinishvili based on the statements and audio recordings provided by executives of BitExchange LLC, a virtual asset service provider, with the case materials allegedly suggesting she was involved in entrepreneurial activities and directly controls a network of enterprises regulated by the National Bank.
According to the agency, the statements further showed that Keinishvili “also attempted to acquire shares in an enterprise regulated by the National Bank and thereby expand her own business activities.”
On the same day that prosecutors announced the probe, RFE/RL’s Georgian Service said the announcement followed the outlet’s two-month investigation into allegations that Keinishvili had sought shares in BitExchange, an NBG-regulated crypto company. Citing documents obtained during its investigation, RFE/RL alleged that the authorities and the NBG had been aware of Keinishvili’s possible violations “for at least several months.”
RFE/RL also said it had approached NBG and the State Security Service of Georgia (SSSG) on October 6, three days before the prosecutors’ announcement, but hadn’t received any response.
RFE/RL’s Report
Soon after the announcement, the outlet published a full investigative report. The report cited the company’s founder, Davit Orjonikidze, and its director, Nino Kopilashvili, who recounted that Keinishvili had approached them in the summer of 2024, asking for a share in the company “for a nominal price” and offering them protection in exchange.
Orjonikidze said that after the initial interaction with Keinishvili, he contacted an employee of the SSSG’s Anti-Corruption Agency, who provided him with a recording device. Orjonikidze and Kopilashvili say they then visited Keinishvili at her home in July 2024. The meeting was allegedly also attended by Natia Loladze, Keinishvili’s daughter and current President of the Georgian Red Cross Society, and Keinishvili’s son-in-law, Aleksandre Toria, according to the report. Keinishvili also headed the Georgian Red Cross Society in 2001-2012.
According to an RFE/RL report, during the meeting, Keinishvili offered the founders of BitExchange “to continue the crypto ATM business together, register a stake in her son-in-law’s name, and expand the business at the expense of competitors.”
Orjonikidze and Kopilashvili said they handed the recordings to the SSSG, but the agency did not launch an investigation. The two said they left the country in the summer of 2025 because they “saw a physical threat” to themselves if they remained in Georgia.
Instead, according to the report, SSSG investigators arrived at the company’s office in December 2025 and requested documents based on a court order. Soon after, in February 2026, the NBG began a months-long inspection into the company’s activities. The inspection ended with a GEL 572 million (around USD 220 mln) fine in September, around two months after BitXchange’s founders reportedly sent a lengthy letter to the NBG detailing the situation involving Keinishvili.
The report, citing NBG’s inspection files, says that the vast majority of the fine was imposed “because the customer identification system on the machines was not activated.” According to the founders, the fine was disproportionate to the company’s audit-assessed value of GEL 4.5 million (around USD 1.7 million).
NBG Says Keinishvili Acted Alone
On October 10, a day after the investigative report was published, the NBG said the board decided to suspend Keinishvili from its activities “until the investigation is completed and the objective truth is established.” It also said Keinishvili acted alone as a non-executive board member and had no access to the inspection of the company that resulted in a fine.
According to the bank, the inspection took place in February 2026, rejecting claims that the fine is connected to the company providing information to NBG as “baseless” and misleading.
NBG said the company was fined for breaching the rules of prevention of money laundering and terrorism financing, as well as other violations.
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