The judges of the Supreme Court voted for the early termination of the powers of the head of the court Vsevolod Knyazev. 137 were pro, and there was no votes against.
The decision was reported at the plenum on May 16 by the head of the counting commission Andrii Zhuk.
Before that, Knyazev was expressed no confidence: 140 votes pro, 2 — against.
On May 15, it became known that Knyazev was caught taking a bribe of almost $3 million. The bribe was connected with decisions in favor of businessman Kostyantyn Zhevago in the case of the Poltava Mining and Processing Plant. The businessman allegedly agreed with the head of one of the bar associations to give a bribe to the court management so that they would make the necessary decisions. The first part of the bribe was handed over on May 3, and the second — on May 15. This was recorded in the heat of the moment. According to the investigation, a "back office" was created in the Supreme Court under the leadership of Vsevolod Knyazev — the bar association helped judges make the necessary decisions for money.
What did Zhevago want to solve?
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 appealed to the commercial court with a lawsuit to declare the contract of sale of shares invalid and to return them to themselves. However, the court rejected the former shareholders.
In 2022, the Court of Appeal overturned the decision of the first instance and invalidated the contract for the sale of securities. 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.