Kipiani, ‘Katsro’: Figures Associated With Criminal Underworld Arrested on Group Violence Charges

Vakthang (Vato) Kipiani and Avtandil Bilanishvili, known as “Katsro,” two figures long associated with Georgia’s criminal underworld in media reports, have been arrested alongside another person, Shota Kipiani, on charges of group violence. Bilanishvili has also been repeatedly associated in the media with Bera, Bidzina Ivanishvili’s son, with the two rumored to have enjoyed a friendship.

Georgia’s Prosecutor General’s Office said they physically assaulted a person, whose identity has not been disclosed, in a restaurant in Tbilisi on October 14. The three have been charged under Article 126, Paragraph 1, Subparagraph “b” of Georgia’s Criminal Code, which covers violence committed by a group and carries a prison sentence of up to two years.

“An investigation conducted by the Ministry of Internal Affairs established that on October 14, 2026, at a restaurant in Tbilisi, Vakhtang Zhvania (a.k.a. Vato Kipiani), Avtandil Bilanishvili and Shota Kipiani physically assaulted the victim, who suffered physical pain,” the Prosecutor’s Office of Georgia’s October 15 statement said.

All three detainees are exercising their right to remain silent, their lawyer, Marika Pkhaladze, told Interpressnews on October 16. Pkhaladze said she would not comment on the case at this stage, given her clients’ position.

Kipiani, 47, has been linked to Georgia’s criminal underworld in media reports for years. According to RFE/RL’s Georgian service, he reportedly has multiple prior criminal convictions and was last detained in Georgia in 2021 at Tbilisi International Airport after being expelled from Ukraine.

In 2020, prosecutors also reportedly accused Kipiani of failed attempts at organizing the murder of the Peikrishvili brothers, described in media reports as criminal authority figures, from Ukraine.

Bilanishvili is the son of Kako Bilanishvili, 75, who media reports also describe as a criminal authority. Bilanishvili first drew wider public attention in 2019, when the Interior Ministry questioned him in connection with the death of 19-year-old footballer Giorgi Shakarashvili. The ministry later said Bilanishvili did not appear in the video footage examined in the case, according to the RFE/RL.

Bilanishvili has been previously reported in Georgian media as a friend of Bera Ivanishvili. Georgian opposition-leaning channels have previously circulated photos of them together on social media. Their relationship has not been independently established.

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