The High Council of Justice (HCJ) has authorised the arrest of former Supreme Court head Vsevolod Knyazyev, the Centre for Preventing Corruption has said.
Now the Specialised Anticorruption Prosecutor's Office (SAPO) has the opportunity to file a petition with the High Anticorruption Court of Ukraine (HACU) for a preventive measure in the form of detention.
During the meeting, the HCJ took note of Knyazyev's explanations regarding the money seized from his office. Knyazyev said that his office was not a restricted-access facility and that virtually anyone could come there.
"Various people have brought money to me for safekeeping, even Supreme Court judges. They were just kept in my office," Knyazyev said.
Later, it became known that the SAPO had already filed a motion with the court for Knyazyev's arrest and bail.
However, the prosecutor did not specify the amount of bail. The time of the hearing to choose a measure of pre-trial custody is currently unknown. However, the SAPO expects it to be held today.
The HACU recently recognised Knyazyev's detention by NABU detectives as lawful. In addition, the SAPO applied to the High Council of Justice for permission to keep Knyazyev in custody.