Kostiantyn Zhevaho is served with a notice of suspicion in the case of former Supreme Court Chief Justice Kniazev

The Special Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office and the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine have served a notice of suspicion to Kostiantyn Zhevaho, owner of the Finance and Credit group.

This was reported by the SAPO press service.

According to the investigation, in 2002, the owner of the Finance and Credit group acquired shares in the mining and processing plant from four companies. In 2020, the former shareholders of the companies went to court to invalidate the sale and purchase agreement. At the time, the request was denied, but two years later, the Court of Appeal overturned the first instance decision. 

To prevent losing his shares, in March-April 2023, the businessman transferred $2.7 million to the lawyer of the back office in the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court later ruled in favour of Zhevaho.

He is currently in France, so he was notified of the suspicion as part of international legal assistance.

In March, a court in France refused to extradite the Ukrainian billionaire. The prosecutor's office did not object to the businessman's extradition. However, the court explained its decision by saying that "the requesting state, which is at war and in an uncertain situation, cannot have a court that guarantees fundamental freedoms".

In May 2023, Kostiantyn Zhevaho denied any involvement in the crime in a commentary to Ukrayinska Pravda journalist Mykhailo Tkach.

Earlier, the former head of the Supreme Court, Vsevolod Kniazev, and his accomplice, lawyer Oleh Horetskyi, were suspected in this case.