Four more judges served notices of suspicion in Supreme Court corruption case – SAPO
SAPO and NABU served new notices of suspicion to three sitting Supreme Court judges and a retired judge in a case involving a bribe for a ruling in favor of the owner of the "Finance and Credit" group.
This is reported by Censor.NET with reference to the SAPO press center.
On the instructions of the Head of SAPO, prosecutors, with the participation of NABU detectives, served new notices of suspicion in the case of corruption in the Supreme Court.
Which judges were served notices of suspicion
- three sitting Supreme Court judges;
- a retired Supreme Court judge.
It should be noted that judges of the Grand Chamber of the Supreme Court review the most complex cases and resolve exceptional legal issues.
Details of the case
According to the investigation, these individuals received an improper benefit for rendering a decision in the interests of the owner of the "Finance and Credit" group. Specifically, in 2002, a Ukrainian businessman purchased 40.19% of the shares of the Poltava Mining and Processing Plant from four companies (hereinafter referred to as former shareholders).
Eighteen years later, the former shareholders filed a lawsuit with a commercial court to declare the securities purchase agreement invalid and reclaim the shares of the Poltava Mining and Processing Plant. However, the court denied the claims.
In 2022, the court of appeals overturned the first-instance ruling and declared the securities purchase agreement invalid.
To prevent the loss of the shares, in early March 2023, the businessman conspired with a lawyer from a "back office" at the Supreme Court.
Throughout March–April 2023, the businessman handed over USD 2.7 million to the lawyer.
On April 19, 2023, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of the businessman. Following this, in May 2023, USD 1.8 million was distributed among the Chief Justice and judges of the Supreme Court.
On May 15, 2023, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court and the lawyer were caught red-handed while receiving the second tranche of the improper benefit amounting to USD 450,000. The case accusing the former top official is currently being heard in the HACC.
In July 2023, the businessman himself was served a notice of suspicion, and in September 2025, a notice was served to the individual who aided in ensuring the transfer of funds by the owner of the "Finance and Credit" group to the Chief Justice and judges of the Supreme Court (on May 15, 2026, the indictment against the intermediary was sent to the HACC for consideration on the merits).
On October 15, 2025, the HACC Appeals Chamber granted permission for a special pre-trial investigation in the case of the owner of the "Finance and Credit" group.
It should be noted that the exposure of the Supreme Court judges involved in receiving improper benefits in the interests of the owner of the "Finance and Credit" group became possible after obtaining critical additional evidence, which NABU and SAPO deem sufficient to bring these individuals to criminal accountability.
The investigation into the case is ongoing.
On the morning of May 19, it was reported that anti-corruption authorities were conducting investigative actions within the framework of the Supreme Court corruption case.
