Ukraine’s National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO) said on Tuesday afternoon they were conducting investigative actions as part of a corruption case involving the Supreme Court.
In a joint statement, NABU and SAPO said the searches and investigative measures were being carried out at the workplaces, residences and vehicles of several current and former Supreme Court judges.
The agencies said the actions also involved the former head of the Supreme Court, whose corruption case is currently being heard by Ukraine’s High Anti-Corruption Court (HACC).
The anti-corruption bodies did not disclose further details, saying more information would be released later.
What is the Supreme Court corruption case about?
The case stems from May 2023, when law enforcement had detained the head of the country’s supreme court in a $2.7 million bribery inquiry, as Kyiv seeks to ramp up an anti-corruption drive required for closer EU integration.
Investigators said then-Supreme Court Chairman Vsevolod Kniaziev and a lawyer were caught while receiving a second tranche of $450,000 in an alleged bribery scheme. A day later, the Supreme Court Plenum voted no confidence in Kniaziev, removing him from the position of court chairman.
More than 10 judges of the Supreme Court may have been involved in the case. As prosecutors of SAPO reported, Kniaziev ordered that the bribe be split into 13 parcels: 10 parcels with $100,000 each, 2 parcels with $150,000 and one parcel with $50,000.
Ukrainian media reported at the time that the money was allegedly linked to individuals acting in the interests of businessman Kostyantyn Zhevago, owner of the Finance and Credit group. Zhevago’s press service denied he had any involvement in bribery.
NABU and SAPO formally announced suspicions against Kniaziev and the lawyer on May 16, 2023. In August 2023, investigators also named Zhevago as a suspect in the case.
Kniaziev was released from pretrial detention in January 2024 after a $2.9 million bail was posted on his behalf.
Ukraine’s Supreme Court permanently dismissed him from his judicial position in December 2024.