Former Supreme Court Chief Jailed Over Bribery Case Receives Plea Deal, Becomes Key Witness Against Accomplices

Ukraine’s former Supreme Court chief, Vselovod Kniaziev, has been jailed over a major bribery case after agreeing to a plea deal that imprisons him for five years, while stripping him of key assets and turning him into a central witness against accomplices.

The High Anti-Corruption Court approved a plea agreement between a prosecutor of the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutors Office (SAPO) and Kniaziev on Monday, after the defendant’s initial exposure in May 2023.

The former head of the Supreme Court was found guilty of committing a crime under Part 4 of Article 368 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, representing one of the most high-profile convictions in Ukraine’s corruption cases.

The sentence combines prison time with sweeping financial penalties.

According to SAPO, his punishment includes being imprisoned for five years with disqualification from holding positions in judicial and law-enforcement bodies for three years, along with confiscation of his apartment and a house. 

More than $200,000 in personal savings have also been confiscated, with a special confiscation of around $1.25 million in bribe proceeds.

“In addition, by agreement of the parties,” the former head of the Supreme Court will also transfer around $1.1 million to support the Armed Forces of Ukraine via the “Come Back Alive” Foundation.

Altogether, the state and the military stand to receive more than HR.113 million (about $2.55 million) that, prosecutors note, can be converted into weapons, drones, or social payments in times of need.

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Central witness in exposing other corruption cases

Kniaziev’s plea deal is turning him from being the main suspect in a multi-million dollar bribery scheme into a key witness against other Supreme Court judges and the interests behind them.

According to Ukraine’s National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU), the same case that led to Kniaziev’s arrest includes three other suspects, the Supreme Court judges and one retired judge who previously served in the Grand Chamber.

Investigators say these judges received illegal payments to rule in favor of the owner of the Finance and Credit group in a high-stakes corporate dispute.

NABU and prosecutors say that a network around the Supreme Court – including both judges and intermediaries – helped deliver favorable rulings towards businessman Konstantyn Zhevago, the owner of Finance and Credit group, in exchange for money.

Poltava Mining and Processing Plant

The case centers on a legal battle over a 40% stake in the Poltava Mining and Processing Plant, bought in 2002 by Zhevago. 

After years of litigation, an appeals court in 2022 invalidated the purchase agreement, and the complexity of the dispute pushed it towards the Grand Chamber of the Supreme Court.

NABU says that in March and April 2023, around $2.7 million was moved through an intermediary to a lawyer described as part of a “back office” tied to the Supreme Court, with money intended for the former Head of Court Kniaziev, and other judges. 

Prosecutors say the bribe was split into 13 parts, and in May 2026, NABU and SAPO announced new suspicions against the four judges, as well as other individuals connected to the case.

With his plea deal and a newly approved agreement to cooperate, Kniaziev is a central witness in explaining how the “back office” worked and how the money flowed from business interests into the country’s highest court.