Businessman Kostiantyn Zhevaho has nothing to do with the situation with the alleged bribery by the president or judges of the Supreme Court, the press service of the businessman has reported.

"Information by some media outlets that an unlawful benefit could have been received from people acting in the interests of the entrepreneur is completely untrue. Zhevaho never gave and could not give such instructions to anyone," he said in a message sent to Interfax-Ukraine on Tuesday.

It states that some media draw parallels in this case with the decision of the Grand Chamber of the Supreme Court on April 19, 2023 in the case of recognizing the legality of the acquisition of 40.19% of the shares of Poltava Mining by Ferrexpo, created by Zhevaho, in 2002.

At the same time, Director of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) Semen Kryvonos at a briefing on Tuesday confirmed that this version is the main one: according to him, the judges of the Supreme Court received an unlawful benefit for deciding in favor of Zhevaho in the dispute over the shares of Poltava Mining. He said that the NABU made operational and technical steps involving an undercover detective.

"Several contacts were recorded between the owner of the Finance and Credit financial group and one of the owners of a lawyer association that was used to cover up criminal activity. There was an agreement between the owner of this group and the owner of this lawyer association to transfer unlawful benefits in favor of high-ranking officials of the court for making the decision necessary for this entrepreneur," the director of NABU said.

He said that after the decision of the Supreme Court on April 19 in favor of Ferrexpo, in early May, a lawyer – a member of this criminal group – received instructions from the leadership of the Supreme Court to distribute this unlawful benefit among the judges.

"This is an obviously baseless connection and a clear fraud. The Grand Chamber of the Supreme Court adopted its April judgment not in my personal interests, but in the interests of a large, public company with respected shareholders, traded on the main floor of the London Stock Exchange," Zhevaho said in turn.

In his opinion, the Supreme Court announced a legally verified verdict.

"An attempt by dubious offshore companies associated with persons involved in the U.S. and European sanctions lists, including Russian citizens, to carry out a seizure of a large industrial asset was suppressed. Other shareholders and I were convinced that it is in the highest court of Ukraine that one can achieve the protection of their legal rights," the co-owner of Ferrexpo said.

At the same time, Zhevaho suggested that today's events around the Supreme Court may be aimed at discrediting this public body, so law enforcement agencies that have publicly announced the revealed signs of bribery should prove their accusations through an evidentiary investigation with a court verdict.

For his part, the businessman assured that, if necessary, he and the lawyers of the respective companies are ready to provide all due explanations to the investigation and the courts.

"I emphasize that we are interested in a transparent investigation of this case to remove all suspicions and confirm our reputation in Ukraine and among foreign partners," Zhevaho said.