Vsevolod Knyazev was born on May 25, 1979, in Mykolaiv, where he graduated from the Institute of Humanities at the Ukrainian Maritime Technical University in 2001 and the Odessa National Law Academy in 2002.
He worked as a legal advisor, a lecturer at the Admiral Makarov National University of Shipbuilding, and a lawyer, and in 2013 he began serving as a judge of the Mykolaiv District Administrative Court.
In 2015, he became the chairman of the Mykolaiv District Administrative Court.
In 2016, he became a judge of the Administrative Court of Cassation of the Supreme Court.
On December 12, 2017, Vsevolod Knyazev was elected secretary of the Grand Chamber of the Supreme Court.
On October 22, 2021, the Plenum of the Supreme Court elected a new president of the institution by secret ballot—Vsevolod Knyazev, who received 98 votes from his colleagues.
On May 15, 2023, NABU and SAPO detained Knyazev while he was receiving a $2.7 million bribe for a ruling in favor of oligarch Kostyantyn Zhevago. According to investigators, a court hearing was scheduled for March 15 but was postponed to buy time and raise funds, and on April 19, the court issued the desired ruling.
On May 18, 2023, the High Council of Justice approved the detention of the former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. On the same day, an investigating judge of the High Anti-Corruption Court imposed a preventive measure on him in the form of detention, with the alternative of posting 107.36 million hryvnias in bail; the preventive measure is valid until July 14; the suspect was taken into custody in the courtroom.
On September 3, the investigation was concluded, and Knyazev’s actions were classified under Part 4 of Article 368 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (Acceptance of a proposal, promise, or receipt of an unlawful benefit by a public official, in an especially large amount, or committed by a public official holding a particularly responsible position). Another suspect in the case, attorney Oleg Goretsky, entered into a plea agreement with the investigation, admitting guilt. The charges against him were changed from Article 368 (receipt of an unlawful benefit) to Article 369 (provision of an unlawful benefit).
On April 4, 2024, the High Council of Justice unanimously suspended Knyazev from the administration of justice until the court’s verdict becomes final or the criminal proceedings are closed.
On August 6, the High Council of Justice dismissed Knyazev from his position as a judge of the Administrative Court of Cassation within the Supreme Court for committing a serious disciplinary offense incompatible with the status of a judge—namely, accepting an illegal gift worth 906,000 UAH.
Vsevolod Knyazev is married and has a daughter, Viktoria, and a son, Volodymyr.
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