Former Supreme Court Chief Justice Knyazev to remain under personal recognizance until the end of the year: HACC ruling
The Supreme Anti-Corruption Court (SAC) has extended the personal obligations of former Supreme Court Chairman Vsevolod Knyazev until December 28, 2024, who is suspected of receiving a bribe of $2.7 million. This decision was adopted by the judges of the VACS on October 28 based on the petition of the prosecutor, informs Transparency International Ukraine.
The prosecution pointed to the risk that Knyazev could avoid the trial or influence witnesses, while his lawyer left the matter to the discretion of the court.
The list of obligations includes:
- to appear at the request of the prosecutor or the court;
- not to leave Ukraine without the permission of the court or prosecutor;
- refrain from contact with witnesses;
- hand over foreign passports;
- to report a change of place of residence or work.
The next court session in the case is scheduled for November 27.
Earlier, on July 17, VAKS refused the prosecutor to restrict Knyazev’s movement through Ukraine after an incident near the village of Solotvino, where the former head of the court was stopped near the Romanian border.
On May 15, 2023, NABU and SAP announced the disclosure of a corruption scheme in the Supreme Court. The head of the court, Vsevolod Knyazev, was detained with the seizure of 2.7 million dollars. He and the intermediary lawyer were charged with bribery.
On May 16, Supreme Court judges gathered for an extraordinary plenum, where 142 votes expressed no confidence in Knyazev, which led to his dismissal from office. On May 18, VAKS chose a preventive measure in the form of detention with the possibility of bail. After several revisions, the bail amount was reduced to UAH 18.168 million, which allowed Knyazev to be released on January 31, 2024.
