A Tbilisi court on Tuesday ordered that the billionaire businessman and leading opposition figure, who lives in London, be held in custody for two months.
Last Thursday prosecutors charged Badri Patarkatsishvili of plotting a coup in the ex-Soviet republic. The billionaire's account at Georgia's Standartbank has been frozen as part of the case.
The charges came days after the January 5 early presidential elections, in which Mikheil Saakashvili was reelected president, gaining around 53% of the vote. Patarkatsishvili himself finished third with around 7%.
In late December, authorities broadcast audio and video recordings allegedly showing the businessman offering a bribe to a senior Interior Ministry official to "neutralize" the minister during protests allegedly planned for after the election in case of a Saakashvili victory.
Patarkatsishvili has admitted attempting to bribe the official, but said he was only trying to deter clashes between police and protestors.
