The High Anti-Corruption Court approved the plea agreement with the former head of the Supreme Court
In a ruling by the High Anti-Corruption Court, former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court Vsevolod Knyazev, who was caught taking a bribe in May 2023, was found guilty of committing the crime specified in Part 4 of Article 368 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.
The defendant fully admitted his guilt in the crime charged against him, agreed to provide incriminating testimony against his accomplices, and accepted a prison sentence with confiscation of property. The court sentenced him to five years of actual imprisonment, with a three-year ban on holding positions in judicial and law enforcement agencies, as well as the confiscation of his apartment, house, and over $200,000 in personal savings.
The agreement brings an end to a lengthy trial, which had essentially been ongoing since August 2024, and provides for the special confiscation of $1.25 million, which was the subject of the illicit benefit, and the transfer of $1.1 million by the former head to support the Armed Forces of Ukraine through the “Come Back Alive” Charitable Foundation. As part of this plea agreement, Knyazev, who is suspected of accepting $2.7 million in bribes, provided incriminating testimony against four colleagues—Supreme Court Justices Iryna Hryhorieva, Zhanna Yelenina, Igor Zhelezny, and retired judge Oleksandr Prokopenko.
This was reported by the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office on Telegram.
The High Anti-Corruption Court extended the pretrial detention of one of the defendants in the case against businessman Kostyantyn Zhevago regarding the possible provision of an unlawful benefit to the then-head of the Supreme Court, Vsevolod Knyazev, for another two months.
Prior to this, the preventive measure against former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Ukraine Vsevolod Knyazev was extended. The court extended the term of the procedural obligations imposed on him.
We previously reported that the charitable foundation of the leader of the “European Solidarity” party, People’s Deputy Petro Poroshenko, paid the 9 million hryvnia bail for Roman Chervinsky, a former employee of the Main Intelligence Directorate.
We also recall that former Supreme Court Chairman Vladislav Knyazev was stopped near the village of Solotvyno in Zakarpattia, close to the border with Romania.
