Case description
The NABU and the SAPO suspect oligarch Kostiantyn Zhevaho of providing a USD 2.7 mln bribe to Vsevolod Kniaziev, the former head of the Supreme Court, to decide in favor of his companies.
The Commercial Court of Kyiv City opened proceedings on a lawsuit filed by Trimcroft Services Limited against several companies and authorities. The lawsuit sought to invalidate a contract and restore previous ownership rights. The third-party lawsuits were consolidated for joint consideration.
The court of the first instance did not grant the lawsuits. However, the Northern Commercial Court of Appeals partially granted the companies' appeals and ordered the seizure of shares in Poltava Mining and Processing Enterprise from the illegal possession of Ferrexpo AG in favor of: Trimcroft Services Limited, Calefort Developments Limited, Emsworth Assets Limited and Gilson Investments Limited.
According to the prosecution, Kostiantyn Zhevaho is the ultimate beneficial owner of Ferrexpo AG, which owns 100% of the Poltava Mining and Processing Enterprise shares. In September 2022, the court recognized that the company owned shares of the enterprise illegally, as a result, Kostiantyn Zhevaho lost the right to own the enterprise's shares.
A cassation appeal was filed against this decision later, and then the case was transferred to the Grand Chamber of the Supreme Court. Oleh Horetskyi, the managing partner of Horetskyi and Partners law firm,learned about this and offered his services. Later he told about his friendship with the former head of the Supreme Court Vsevolod Kniaziev.
Kostiantyn Zhevaho offered Vsevolod Kniaziev a bribe through unauthorized persons to decide in his favor in the Supreme Court. Vsevolod Kniaziev demanded USD 3 million for this.
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Realizing he could not deliver the illegal benefit alone, Kostiantyn Zhevaho enlisted lawyer Oleh Horetskyi and other intermediaries. Oleh Horetskyi that reported Kostiantyn Zhevaho was ready to give a USD 2 million bribe, of which the former head of the court and other judges would receive USD 1.8 million, and another USD 200,000 would be distributed among intermediaries. Kostiantyn Zhevaho was ready to pay USD 2.7 million, and Oleh Horetskyi planned to distribute the remaining amount among the defendants himself.
The funds were transferred in installments through Horetskyi, who stored them in safes and offices for later delivery to the judges.
On April 19, 2023, the Grand Chamber of the Supreme Court issued a ruling, according to which the decision of the appellate instance was overturned and partly granted the cassation appeals of Kostiantyn Zhevaho's firms. Meanwhile, Vsevolod Kniaziev pretended not to be involved or interested in this court decision.
Kniaziev and likely other judges received the illegal benefit in two parts: USD 1.3 million and USD 450,000.
In May, he received the promised money in the amount of USD 1.35 million. Law enforcement officers classified Kostiantyn Zhevaho's actions under Article 369, part 4 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. The oligarch is currently in Paris; he left in 2019.
