⚖️ Law Enforcement

Vsevolod Kniaziev, chief justice of the Ukrainian Supreme Court, was arrested in May 2023 for allegedly receiving a $2.7 million bribe to render a favorable verdict for a company owned by mining tycoon Kostyantyn Zhevago.

Kyiv, Kyiv Oblast
Verified Independently confirmed by 4 sources
Kyiv Post Kyiv Independent Ukrinform Ukrainska Pravda

Multiple high-reliability sources confirm the core facts of this event.

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Kyiv Post → Source tone: likely

Vsevolod Kniaziev was arrested in May for allegedly receiving a $2.7 million dollar bribe to render a favorable verdict for a company owned by mining tycoon and suspected embezzler, Kostyantyn Zhevago.

Kyiv Post → Source tone: uncertain

Kniaziev is also alleged to be the one who initiated the bribery scheme in this case and was to pay other judges a cut of the bribe to support the 'proper' verdict in the case.

Kyiv Independent → Source tone: certain

Kniaziev was detained and dismissed from his position as the head of the Supreme Court in May 2023 after being charged with accepting a $2.7 million bribe to rule in favor of Ukrainian billionaire Kostyantyn Zhevago

Ukrinform → Source tone: certain

Judge Oleksiy Tandyr fatally struck National Guardsman Vadym Bondarenko at checkpoint in Kyiv in May 2023

Ukrinform → Source tone: certain

Suspect remanded in custody until end of summer 2023

Ukrainska Pravda → Source tone: certain

The disciplinary chamber of QDCB of Kyiv Oblast stripped Medvedchuk of his right to legal practice

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Extraction metadata

Extracted: 2026-03-08T00:17:42.818Z

Source story: 21611