On September 26, the Appellate Chamber of the High Anti-Corruption Court remanded former Supreme Court Chairman Vsevolod Knyazev in custody until October 16, but reduced the amount of bail from 55 million to 45 million hryvnias.
This was reported by the Anti-Corruption Center and the NGO Transparency International Ukraine.
Knyazevʼs defense asked for 24-hour house arrest, not detention. The suspect himself said at the hearing that he is not going to hide from justice and is ready to serve the punishment if he is found guilty. He complained that his accounts, as well as those of his relatives, had been seized, so he could not post bail. Knyazev called the detention in custody a de facto preventive measure with no alternative.
The court only agreed to reduce the bail and keep him in custody.
It is not the first time that Knyazevʼs bail has been reduced. Back in May, its amount reached UAH 107.3 million, and at the end of the month it reached UAH 75 million. In September, the court reduced the bail amount to 55 million.
- On May 15, 2023, it became known that the head of the Supreme Court, Vsevolod 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 ( here are more details about the case ). Businessman Zhevago rejected all the accusations and called the "customers" — the alleged Russian owners of his assets, as well as businessman Ihor Kolomoiskyi.
- On May 16 , the Supreme Court expressed no confidence in Knyazev and released him, later Knyazev was suspected, and then the court arrested him.