The Appeals Chamber of the Ukrainian Chamber of Commerce and Industry allowed an absentee investigation of the oligarch Kostyantyn Zhevago
On October 15, the Appellate Chamber of the Higher Anti-Corruption Court (HACE) granted permission to conduct a special pre-trial investigation regarding fugitive oligarch Kostyantyn Zhevago. He is suspected of paying a $2.7 million bribe to former Supreme Court Chief Justice Vsevolod Knyazev to rule in favor of a company he controls. This was reported by the press service of the Appeals Chamber of VAX.
The message does not include the name of the businessman, however, according to the Anti-Corruption Center (CPC), it is about Zhevago.
Thus, the appellate instance satisfied the complaint of the prosecutor of the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAP) and annulled the decision of the court of first instance, which refused to grant permission for a special pre-trial investigation. Such a permit gives the SAP an opportunity to complete the investigation in the case in absentia and later transfer it to the VAKS.
Let us remind you that in early September 2025, the investigative judge of VAX refused to grant the relevant petition due to its prematureness, because the Paris Court of Appeals was scheduled to hold a hearing on Zhevago’s extradition on October 1. However, the hearing was never held at the initiative of the court itself. The new date of the review has not yet been determined.
On August 3, 2023, NABU and SAP announced that Zhevago was suspected of bribing the leadership and judges of the Supreme Court in order to obtain a favorable decision in an economic case.
“Since the suspect was in France at the time of the crime and until now, he was informed about the suspicion within the framework of international legal assistance”, – NABU noted.
Kostyantyn Zhevago, the owner of the London-registered company Ferrexpo (FXPO.L), was detained in France in December 2022 at a ski resort at the request of Ukraine, which is looking for him in the case of the disappearance of $113 million from the bankrupt Finance & Credit Bank. He was later released on €1 million ($1.1 million) bail after his arrest near Chambery.
On March 30, 2023, the French court ruled that Konstantin Zhevago will not be extradited to Ukraine on charges of embezzlement.
Currently, the assets of the businessman and his related companies have been seized. These are shares of his companies worth hundreds of millions of hryvnias, corporate rights, 26 real estate objects, as well as the property of other legal entities associated with the former People’s Deputy: 14 property complexes, 21 shares in complexes, 30 non-residential premises and 10 apartments.
According to Forbes, in December 2022, Zhevago was in fifth place in the ranking of the richest Ukrainians with a fortune of 1.4 billion dollars. He is the owner of the metallurgical company Ferrexpo. Before the start of the full-scale war, his capital was valued at the same level.
