Judiciary council opens disciplinary proceedings against ex-Supreme Court chief

Ukraine's High Council of Justice opened a disciplinary case regarding the conduct of Vsevolod Kniaziev, the former head of the Supreme Court suspected of corruption, the council's press service said on April 16.

Kniaziev was detained and dismissed from his position in May 2023 after he was charged with accepting a $2.7 million bribe to rule in favor of Ukrainian billionaire Kostyantyn Zhevago.

He was released from detention after paying Hr 18 million bail (around $450,000) in January but remains suspended from administering justice until the verdict or the closure of the case.

The High Council of Justice's statement referred to a different case connected to Kniaziev. In December 2023, the judge was found guilty by a court in Kyiv of illegally accepting a gift after it was revealed he was renting an apartment in an elite neighborhood in the capital for Hr 1,000 ($25) a month.

The disciplinary case was opened based on complaints received by the council, including from the National Agency on Corruption Prevention.

"The First Disciplinary Chamber of the High Council of Justice believes that the circumstances described in the complaints carry signs of disciplinary misconduct" on Knaiziev's part, the statement read.

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