Georgian central bank board member quits as prosecutors probe crypto firm dealings

Nana Keinishvili, a member of the National Bank of Georgia's board and a former lawmaker for the ruling Georgian Dream party, resigned on Oct. 17, a week after the Prosecutor General's Office announced an investigation into alleged illegal business activities, Civil.ge reported. The case centers on BitExchange LLC, a virtual asset service provider that the central bank itself supervises and fined heavily last month.

In a Facebook post announcing her departure, Keinishvili cited "state interests and the reputation of the National Bank." She rejected the accusations against her, denying that she had used her position "to gain illegal advantage for any company." The allegations remain under investigation.

What prosecutors and RFE/RL allege

According to prosecutors, Keinishvili controls enterprises regulated by the National Bank and "also attempted to acquire shares in an enterprise regulated by the National Bank." Their case relies on statements and audio recordings provided by BitExchange executives. A two-month investigation by RFE/RL's Georgian Service, published on Oct. 9, reported that Keinishvili approached the company's founders in the summer of 2024, including at a meeting at her home in July of that year, seeking shares "for a nominal price" and offering protection in return.

RFE/RL reported that she sought to "register a stake in her son-in-law's name," identified as Aleksandre Toria, and to "expand the business at the expense of competitors." Founder Davit Orjonikidze and director Nino Kopilashvili said they "saw a physical threat" and left Georgia in the summer of 2025. Their account has not been tested in court.

A fine dwarfing the company's value

The regulatory record adds another layer. The State Security Service of Georgia, through its Anti-Corruption Agency, requested documents in December 2025, and the National Bank opened an inspection of BitExchange in February 2026. In September, the bank fined the company GEL 572 million, about $220 million. Citing inspection files, RFE/RL reported that most of the penalty was imposed "because the customer identification system on the machines was not activated." An audit valued the company at GEL 4.5 million, or about $1.7 million, and the founders call the fine disproportionate. The National Bank has called any link between the fine and the founders' complaints "baseless."

RFE/RL also reported that the authorities had been aware of the allegations "for at least several months" and said it approached the National Bank and the security service on Oct. 6 without receiving a response. A day after its report, on Oct. 10, the bank suspended Keinishvili, saying she had "acted alone as a non-executive board member," and its board said the suspension would last "until the investigation is completed and the objective truth is established."

Keinishvili was elected to the bank's board in September 2023. She previously headed the Georgian Red Cross Society from 2001 to 2012; her daughter, Natia Loladze, is now its president. The case adds to scrutiny of Georgian institutions at a time when the government says it has met about 90% of its EU association pledges.

What it means: The resignation removes an immediate embarrassment for the National Bank but leaves the harder questions open. A board member of the regulator is accused of seeking a stake in a firm the regulator oversees, and the same regulator later imposed a fine more than 100 times the company's audited value. Whether the probe establishes wrongdoing or not, the sequence invites doubts about how supervisory powers over Georgia's crypto sector are exercised and who benefits. For a central bank whose credibility rests on being seen as independent from political and business interests, a transparent investigation and a clear account of the BitExchange penalty will matter more than the departure itself.