The Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO) of Ukraine and the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) have reported unravelling a massive corruption scheme in the country’s Supreme Court.
Photo: NABU
“NABU and SAPO have unravelled massive corruption in the Supreme Court, namely a scheme of the top brass and the judges of the court receiving unlawful earnings,” the anti-corruption agency reports.
RBC Ukraine reports Vsevolod Kniaziev, the President of the Supreme Court, is suspected of taking a bribe. RBC’s source says Kniaziev received $2.7 million worth of a bribe and has become the highest ranking Ukrainian official caught for bribery.
Leaders of NABU and SAPO have confirmed in a briefing that Kniaziev is suspected of corruption.
“Currently, the president of the Supreme Court has been detained and measures are being taken to verify other persons and their involvement in the crime. At present, they have not yet been formally charged, since the Criminal Procedure Code gives us 24 hours to hand over a notice of suspicion, it is being prepared and will be handed over,” said Oleksandr Omelchenko, a prosecutor with SAPO.
One more person has been detained, their name remains undisclosed.
