Former Supreme Court chief Knyazev gets 5 years in prison after plea deal
Former chief justice of the Supreme Court to serve prison sentence for bribery (Photo: supreme.court.gov.ua)
Ukraine’s High Anti-Corruption Court approved a plea agreement between prosecutors and former Supreme Court Chairman Vsevolod Knyazev, sentencing him to five years in prison, the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office reported on June 8.
The office did not name the judge in its statement, but the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine confirmed to public broadcaster Suspilne that the person in question was Knyazev.
Knyazev fully admitted guilt, agreed to provide incriminating testimony against accomplices, and accepted a real prison term with confiscation of property. The anti-graft court found the former Supreme Court chief guilty under Part 4 of Article 368 of Ukraine’s Criminal Code.
The sentence includes:
- five years in prison, with time already spent in pre-trial detention counted toward the term, and a three-year ban on holding positions in the judiciary and law enforcement;
- confiscation of an apartment and a house;
- confiscation of more than $200,000 in personal savings;
- special confiscation of $1,248,700 that prosecutors said was the bribe.
Under the terms of the agreement, Knyazev will also direct $1,104,600 to support Ukraine’s Armed Forces through the Come Back Alive charitable foundation.
SAPO said Knyazev’s cooperation allowed prosecutors to charge other Supreme Court judges in connection with the bribery scheme.
In May 2023, NABU and SAPO said they had carried out searches at the Supreme Court as part of a corruption case. The searches took place at the workplaces, homes, and vehicles of several current and former Supreme Court judges, including former court chairman Vsevolod Knyazev.
On May 16, 2023, NABU and SAPO confirmed Knyazev’s detention on charges of receiving a $2.7 million bribe. NABU Director Semen Kryvonos called it the biggest exposure of an official in the judicial branch in the history of Ukraine’s anti-corruption agencies.
The Supreme Court’s Plenum later expressed no confidence in Knyazev, and he lost his position as court chairman. Knyazev and an associate, a lawyer, were charged with receiving an unlawful benefit.
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