The National Bank responds to the Nana Keinishvili case and the fining of Bitexchange

The National Bank's statement regarding the fine

The National Bank of Georgia has fined LLC Bitexchange 572,118,000 GEL. According to the Bank's explanation, the vast majority of the fine, 572,033,000 GEL, is related to violations of customer identification and verification requirements, which concerns operations carried out through self-service kiosks. Additionally, the company was imposed 6,000 GEL for incorrect submission of information, and 14,000 GEL for failure to submit information regarding a suspicious transaction. According to the National Bank, the inspection was carried out as planned in February 2026, and the company representative's statement that the fining is related to information provided to the NBG is baseless. Imedi+4

The Nana Keinishvili case and the investigation

The Prosecutor General's Office of Georgia has launched an investigation against National Bank Council member Nana Keinishvili under Article 337 of the Criminal Code, which involves illegal participation of an official in entrepreneurial activities. According to the National Bank's statement, the Council unanimously made the decision to recuse Keinishvili from activities until the investigation is concluded. The Bank emphasizes that Keinishvili acted alone, which, they claim, is confirmed by an audio recording of the company representative. Publika+5

Conflicting information regarding the connection of events

The National Bank states that Nana Keinishvili had no influence on the supervision of virtual asset service providers. However, according to a journalistic investigation by Radio Liberty, Nana Keinishvili demanded a business share from the crypto company, and after being refused, the company was fined. According to Radio Liberty, the company's founders made a covert audio recording in agreement with the State Security Service, although the agency has not had a reaction to date. Imedi+4