Court President Vsevolod Knyasyev was arrested while receiving three million US dollars (2.76 million euros), the Internet newspaper “Ukrajinska Pravda” reported late Monday evening.
The National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) published a photo of bundles of banknotes on a couch. Details should be announced later. Media in Kiev reported that there were raids on other judges of the highest judiciary.
According to the NABU and the special prosecutor’s office, they have uncovered “large-scale corruption in the Supreme Court, in particular a plan to obtain unjustified advantages from the leadership and the judges of the Supreme Court,” said the statement from both authorities. The reports did not reveal who should have bribed whom and why.
Knyasiev, now 43, was appointed chairman of the Supreme Court in October 2021. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has repeatedly promised a more determined fight against the culture of bribery in the country. Above all, Zelenskyy wants to show that Ukraine, as a candidate for accession to the EU, is ready to negotiate for membership in the European Union.
Source: Nachrichten
