Vsevolod Knyazev

Vsevolod Knyazev, the former Chief Justice of Ukraine’s Supreme Court, is a convicted figure central to major corruption scandals. In May 2023, he was detained for accepting a $2.7 million bribe to influence a Grand Chamber ruling regarding Kostyantyn Zhevaho’s shares in the Poltava Mining and Processing Plant. Following a plea deal, the High Anti-Corruption Court sentenced him in 2026 to five years in prison. The verdict included a three-year ban on holding judicial or law enforcement positions, confiscation of his home and apartment, seizure of over $200,000 in savings, special confiscation of $1.25 million in bribe proceeds, and a requirement to donate over $1.1 million to the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Separately, Knyazev faced an administrative case for violating gift-acceptance laws by renting a 133-square-meter apartment in Kyiv for only 1,000 UAH per month. In December 2023, he was fined 2,550 UAH and ordered to forfeit 906,600 UAH. This resulted in his entry into the register of persons who committed corruption offenses. Consequently, the High Council of Justice dismissed him from his position as a judge in 2024, a decision finalized by the Supreme Court in December 2024.