UKRAINE SAID TODAY that law enforcement had detained the head of the country’s supreme court in a $2.7 million bribery inquiry, as Kyiv pursues anti-graft measures required for closer integration with the European Union.
Omelchenko said two people, including the court’s chief Vsevolod Kniaziev, had been detained as part of the investigation but declined to identify the second individual. Kryvonos likened a group of judges within the supreme court who were implicated in the probe to a “criminal group”.Anti-corruption officials say Ukrainian billionaire Kostiantyn Zhevago had offered the bribe to court officials, with a law firm acting as intermediary.
They said Zhevago had hoped to bribe the court to issue a ruling allowing him to keep control of the shares of a mining company that is at the centre of a dispute with former shareholders.