On June 8, 2026, the HACC approved the plea agreement between the SAPO prosecutor and former Supreme Court Chairman Vsevolod Kniaziev, who was charged with accepting a $2.7 million bribe from oligarch Kostiantyn Zhevaho in exchange for a favorable ruling.
Sentence (as approved):
- 5 years' actual imprisonment, with a 3-year ban on holding positions in judicial and law enforcement bodies;
- asset confiscation: an apartment, a house, and personal savings of over $200,000;
- special confiscation of $1,248,700 constituting the subject of the bribe.
Additionally, by agreement of the parties, the former Supreme Court Chairman undertook to transfer UAH 1,104,600 to support the Armed Forces of Ukraine through the Come Back Alive foundation.
The plea agreement was reviewed by the court in a closed session.
NABU detectives exposed Kniaziev for bribery in May 2023. According to the investigation, Kniaziev, in collusion with notary Kyrylo Horburov and lawyer Oleh Horetskyi, organized a scheme for receiving bribes in exchange for favorable court decisions. Horburov sourced clients, Horetskyi negotiated with Kniaziev, and Kniaziev in turn reached arrangements with Supreme Court judges.
The plea agreement became possible after Kniaziev began cooperating with the investigation and provided incriminating testimony on the circumstances of accepting the unlawful benefit in the case involving businessman Kostiantyn Zhevaho.
On the basis of that testimony, law enforcement served suspicion notices on other defendants in the case. According to the investigation, Grand Chamber judge Zhanna Yelenina, Supreme Court judges Iryna Hryhorieva and Ihor Zhelieznyi, and retired judge Oleksandr Prokopenko accepted unlawful benefits in exchange for ruling in Zhevaho's interests.
