Ukraine Monitor presents the latest news concerning internal and external matters of Ukraine – a unique country where the interests of the East and the West clash almost every day.
Date: 31 May 2023 Author: Grzegorz Kuczyński
Ukraine Shocked By New Courtroom Corruption Scandals
A reportedly drunk judge fatally killed a National Guard serviceman at the checkpoint in a new scandal that involved the Ukrainian courtroom. A few days earlier, Ukrainian media reported that Kniaziev was caught receiving a few million dollars in bribe.
A car driven by a judge of a Makarov court hit a serviceman of the National Guard at a checkpoint. The judge refused to undergo an examination for intoxication. The police officers, who arrived at the scene, believed the judge was under the influence of alcohol and took measures to forcibly collect biological samples from him. A spokesperson for a Makarov district court said the judge had failed to arrive in the office. The scandal sparked outrage in Ukraine as a judge again committed a crime, claiming they had immunity from prosecution. In addition, the judge drove a luxurious car that also raised the anger of Ukrainians who were right to believe that a district court judge could never afford such an expensive vehicle. The head of Ukraine’s Supreme Court, Vsevolod Kniaziev, was detained in mid-May on corruption charges based on an alleged $3 million bribe. The charges were brought by Ukraine’s leading anti-corruption bodies, the Special Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO) and the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU). The Supreme Court removed Kniaziev from his post, with a new chief justice likely to be voted in soon. The lawyer, who chaired the supreme court since December 2021, was suspected of acting as an intermediary on behalf of a billionaire Ukrainian iron oligarch, Kostyantyn Zhevago. Moreover, another 18 Supreme Court judges who heard the case were also being searched.
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