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Ukraine Supreme Court head held in corruption probe

Reuters Director of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau Semen Kryvonos and Director of the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office Oleksandr Klymenko at a new conferenceReuters
The directors of Ukraine's Anti-Corruption Bureau and Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office spoke to reporters on Tuesday

Ukrainian prosecutors have detained the head of the country's Supreme Court for allegedly taking bribes.

The arrest comes a day after specialist investigators said they had "exposed large-scale corruption" at the court.

Prosecutors did not name the official and said they had not yet been served formally with a "notice of suspicion".

But local media reported on Monday that Chief Justice Vsevolod Kniaziev had been detained in connection with a $3m (£2.4m; €2.9m) bribe.

Reuters said Mr Kniaziev could not be reached for comment.

Ukrainian politician Oleksiy Goncharenko said it was the highest ranking official in the country's history to be arrested for a bribe.

On Monday, Ukraine's Anti-Corruption Bureau said on its Telegram and Facebook social media channels that a joint investigation with the Specialized Anti-corruption Prosecutor's Office had "exposed large-scale corruption in the Supreme Court, namely a scheme for the leadership and judges of the Supreme Court to receive bribes".

NATIONAL ANTI-CORRUPTION BUREAU OF UKRAINE/Reuters Handout image of stacks of dollar notes was posted on social mediaNATIONAL ANTI-CORRUPTION BUREAU OF UKRAINE/Reuters
An image of stacks of dollar notes was posted on social media by Ukrainian investigators

Accompanying the announcement the bureau posted a picture of piles of dollars stacked on a sofa. Reuters said the photograph could not be independently verified.

The anti-corruption bureau added that "emergency investigative actions are under way".

Several local media outlets reported that Mr Kniaziev had been detained and would be served with an official "notice of suspicion" within 24 hours of his arrest.

The European Union has made fighting corruption a precondition for Ukraine joining the 27-member group. But despite progress at tackling the problem in recent years, Ukraine ranks 116th out of 180 countries in Transparency International's Corruption Perceptions Index.