Ukraine’s Supreme Court chair has been removed from his position following his arrest in a bribery investigation, according to two anti-corruption bodies. The chair, who has not been named, was accused of accepting $2.7m in bribes. Vsevolod Knyazev was dismissed as chief justice after the court’s judges voted to strip him of the position. Knyazev remains a Supreme Court judge, but the High Council of Justice has the power to remove him. The country’s Western allies have expressed concern over Ukraine’s inability to suppress corruption as it seeks fast-track entry to the European Union.
The National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine posted photos on Facebook that included piles of American dollars stacked on a table and a sofa. The agency’s chief, Semen Kryvonos, said a bribe was paid for ruling in favor of the Finance and Credit financial group, which is owned by a prominent businessman. The Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office said on Telegram that it and the bureau had “caught the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court and a lawyer red-handed while receiving an illegal benefit.”
President Volodymyr Zelensky has retrained his focus on fighting corruption this year, aimed at maintaining Ukrainians’ trust in the wartime government after several officials were fired in January amid a major corruption scandal.
Anastasia Kuznietsova and Matt Surman contributed reporting.
2023-05-16 16:14:05
Original from www.nytimes.com