Knyazevʼs case: businessman Zhevago rejected all accusations of trying to bribe the Supreme Court and called the “customers”

Businessman Kostyantyn Zhevago rejects all accusations of trying to bribe the Supreme Court and its former head Vsevolod Knyazev. He says that the customers of this case are the former Russian owners of his assets, as well as businessman Ihor Kolomoiskyi.

Zhevago told about this in an interview with Forbes.

The National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutorʼs Office (SAPO) believe that Knyazev received a bribe for a decision in favor of businessman Kostyantyn Zhevago in the case of the Poltava Mining and Processing Plant.

"I have nothing to do with this case. I believe that the case of the Ferrexpo company and my name appeared there because we worked with many lawyers — we were defended by five or six law firms, and the entire legal market of Ukraine knew about this case and was waiting for a decision. That is, 100%, it was discussed a lot everywhere," says Zhevago.

The businessman also notes that he does not know whether he has any status in this case. He is ready to cooperate with the investigation and provide all the necessary information.

On the NABU and SAPO tapes, there is a human voice similar to Zhevago. The businessman does not deny that it could be him, but for this it is necessary to carry out an examination.

"I canʼt tell you whether itʼs my voice on the tape or not. But I admit it could have been me because Iʼve been in contact with at least all five companies for at least the last year," he explained.

Zhevago also confirmed that among these companies was the “Horetskyi and Partners” law firm. Its manager Oleh Horetskyi, is also involved in the bribery case, and the court has already ordered a preventive measure against him.

As for the "customers", Zhevago believes that the former Russian owners of “Poltava GZK”, as well as businessman Ihor Kolomoisky, are behind this case.

The case of Vsevolod Knyazev

On May 15, it became known that Knyazev was caught taking a bribe of almost $3 million. The bribery was connected with decisions in favor of businessman Kostyantyn Zhevago in the case of the Poltava Mining and Processing Plant. In the Supreme Court, a "back office" was created under the leadership of Vsevolod Knyazev — the bar association helped judges make the right decisions for money.

What did Zhevago want? In 2002, the businessman purchased 40.19% of the shares of the Poltava Mining and Processing Plant from four companies. In 2020, the former shareholders wanted to return these shares through the court, but the court refused them. In 2022, the Court of Appeal still declared the contract of sale of shares of the plant invalid. In order to prevent the loss of shares, in early March, Zhevago turned to the "back office" of the Supreme Court. Already on April 19, the Supreme Court made a decision in favor of Zhevago — it recognized that the businessman legally purchased the Poltava plant.

• On May 16, the Supreme Court expressed no confidence in Knyazev and released him, later Knyazev was suspected, and then the court arrested him.