Several Ukrainian media outlets reported this week that former Chief Justice of Ukraine’s Supreme Court Vsevolod Kniaziev has entered into a plea agreement in the criminal proceedings against him. Instead of the 12-year prison sentence prescribed by law for accepting a particularly large bribe, Kniaziev will serve five years in prison, return the bribe and donate an additional $1 million to Ukraine’s Armed Forces.JOIN US ON TELEGRAMFollow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official. The case involved a $2.7 million bribe allegedly paid in exchange for securing a court ruling in favor of Ukrainian businessman Kostiantyn Zhevago. How did this happen? Vsevolod Kniaziev served as Chief Justice of Ukraine’s Supreme Court, the country’s highest judicial authority, from 2021 to 2023. He became head of the court in 2021 following judicial reforms introduced several years earlier. Previously, only a professional judge with at least 15 years of judicial experience could become a Supreme Court judge or chief justice. Under the new rules, the experience requirement was reduced, and candidates were no longer limited to sitting judges. Any qualified legal professional could apply. Kniaziev passed interviews, integrity assessments and background checks for previous corruption allegations. At the time, he was declared to have an impeccable reputation, and influential anti-corruption civil society organizations raised no objections. However, in 2023, detectives from the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) detained him in a record-breaking bribery case.