Corruption in the Supreme Court: The case against the owner of the “Finance and Credit” group has been referred to court
16 June 18:09
The National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO) have filed an indictment against the owner of the “Finance and Credit” group. He is accused of providing unlawful benefits to the chief justice and judges of the Supreme Court in exchange for a ruling in his favor in a commercial case. This was reported by NABU, according to "Komersant Ukrainian".
The case involves Kostyantyn Zhevago, who is accused of providing improper benefits to the chief justice and judges of the Supreme Court in exchange for a ruling in his favor in a commercial case. Zhevago currently resides in France.
“According to the investigation, in 2002, the defendant acquired 40.19% of the shares in the Poltava Mining and Processing Plant from four companies. Eighteen years later, the former shareholders challenged the agreement in court, but the trial court dismissed the claim. In 2022, the appellate court overturned that decision and declared the agreement invalid,” the statement reads.
In March–April 2023, the businessman, seeking to retain control over the shares, transferred $2.7 million through an intermediary to a lawyer—a member of the so-called “back office” of the Supreme Court. These funds were intended for the former chief justice and judges of the Supreme Court in exchange for ruling in favor of the businessman.
On May 15, 2023, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court and the lawyer were caught in the act of receiving a second tranche of an illegal benefit totaling $450,000.
In July 2023, the businessman himself was notified of the charges, and the intermediary was notified in September 2025.
“On October 15, 2025, the Anti-Corruption Court granted permission to conduct a special pre-trial investigation into the case of the owner of the ‘Finance and Credit’ group. That same month, the investigation into the businessman and his accomplice was completed,” the statement reads.
In May 2026, an indictment against the businessman’s intermediary was filed with the court.
At the same time, the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO) expanded the circle of suspects in the case. This includes three sitting Supreme Court justices, as well as a retired Supreme Court justice.
Earlier, the High Anti-Corruption Court (VAKS) approved a plea agreement between a SAPO prosecutor and former Supreme Court Chief Justice Vsevolod Knyazev.
“On June 8, 2026, as part of the plea agreement, the former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court was sentenced to five years of actual imprisonment with confiscation of property and funds,” the statement reads.
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The Case of Former Supreme Court Chief Justice Knyazev
In May 2023, the National Anti-Corruption Bureau and the SAP announced that they had uncovered a scheme involving the receipt of $2.7 million in illicit benefits by the leadership and judges of the Supreme Court.
The case, in which the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court allegedly received a bribe, is linked to the business empire of businessman Kostyantyn Zhevago. According to the investigation, Zhevago was personally involved in organizing the transfer of the bribe, although he denies this.
The case concerns a decision issued on April 19 by the Grand Chamber of the Supreme Court, which overturned a ruling by the Northern Commercial Court of Appeal that had invalidated a 2002 agreement regarding the purchase40.19% of the shares in the Poltava Mining and Processing Plant (PGZK) from Ferrexpo and their transfer to the company’s former shareholders, who were part of the VS Energy group led by Russian businessmen Alexander Babakov, Yevgeny Giner, Mikhail Voevodin, and Sergey Shapovalov.
On December 13, 2023, the National Agency for the Prevention of Corruption issued a report against the former head of the Supreme Court regarding an administrative offense under Part 1 of Article 172-5 of the Code of Administrative Offenses (violation of statutory restrictions on receiving gifts).
According to the NACP, Vsevolod Knyazev received a gift in the form of a lease for an apartment in the Pecherskyi district (Lypky) of Kyiv with an area of 133 square meters at a price significantly lower than the minimum market rental value
Investigation into Zhevago
As a reminder, on September 17, 2015, the National Bank declared “Finansy i Kredit” Bank insolvent. The bank, which is currently in liquidation, ended 2015 with a loss of 21.05 billion hryvnias.
As part of the investigation, a Ukrainian businessman, the bank’s owner, and a former member of parliament, as well as a number of the bank’s top managers, were notified that they were suspected of committing criminal offenses.
On December 27, 2022, Ukrainian businessman and former Member of Parliament Kostyantyn Zhevago was detained at the Courchevel ski resort in the French Alps at the request of Ukrainian authorities.
A court in the French city of Chambéry issued an extradition arrest warrant for the fugitive Ukrainian oligarch Konstantin Zhevago.
Zhevago, who is suspected of embezzlement, posted bail of one million euros and was released from custody; he is not permitted to leave mainland France.
The French Supreme Court rejected the Ukrainian side’s request and ruled that Ukrainian billionaire Konstantin Zhevago should not be extradited on charges of embezzlement in the “Finance and Credit” bank case.
On March 19, 2026, Zhevago was served with a notice of suspicion in France. The businessman’s lawyers claimed that the statement by the Prosecutor General and the State Bureau of Investigation regarding the service of the notice was manipulative. According to them, the procedural actions were initiated by Zhevago himself.
The Pechersky District Court of Kyiv, upon a motion by prosecutors from the Office of the Prosecutor General, granted permission to conduct a special pre-trial investigation into the oligarch and beneficiary of JSC “Bank ‘Finances and Credit’” Konstantin Zhevago. The National Agency for Asset Tracing and Management (ARMA) announced a competition to select an administrator for the assets that belonged to the sanctioned oligarch Konstantin Zhevago.
The Northern Commercial Court of Appeal upheld the legality of the seizure of Ukrainian assets belonging to the former owner of “Finance and Credit” Bank Konstantin Zhevago, against whom the Deposit Guarantee Fund for Individuals filed a lawsuit seeking 46 billion hryvnias in damages for losses incurred by the bank and its creditors.
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