In Ukraine, anti-corruption fighters have uncovered millions of dollars in bribes paid to the Supreme Court. Court president Vsevolod Knyasiev was arrested while accepting three million US dollars (2.76 million euros), the online newspaper Ukrajinska Pravda reported late yesterday evening.
The National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) published a photo of bundles of banknotes on a couch. Details should be announced later. Media in Kiev reported that there were raids on other judges of the highest judiciary.
According to the NABU and the special prosecutor’s office, they have “uncovered large-scale corruption in the Supreme Court, in particular a plan to obtain unjustified advantages from the leadership and the judges of the Supreme Court,” the statement from both authorities said. The reports did not reveal who should have bribed whom and why.
Knyasiev, now 43, was appointed chairman of the Supreme Court in October 2021. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has repeatedly promised a more determined fight against the culture of bribery in the country. Above all, Zelenskyy wants to show that Ukraine, as a candidate for accession to the EU, is ready to negotiate for membership.
