Russian court: ex-minister guilty of taking $2 million bribe
Posted December 15, 2017 6:00 am
MOSCOW (AP) - A court has found a former Russian economic development minister guilty of accepting a $2 million bribe from a top ally of President Vladimir Putin.
Alexei Ulyukayev, the highest-ranking Russian official to have been arrested since 1993, was detained last year at the headquarters of Russia's largest oil producer, Rosneft, after a sting operation by Russia's main intelligence agency. Ulyukayev has denied the charges and said Rosneft's influential chief executive Igor Sechin has set him up.
The judge on Friday found Ulyukayev guilty but has yet to sentence him. Prosecutors earlier this month asked the court to send him to a high-security prison for ten years as well as fining him roughly $5 million.
Former Russian Economic Development Minister Alexei Ulyukayev waits for his hearing at a court in Moscow, Russia, Friday, Dec. 15, 2017. A Moscow court is expected to deliver a verdict in the case of former Economic Development Minister Alexei Ulyukayev who is on trial for accepting a $2 million bribe from a close ally of President Vladimir Putin. (AP Photo/Ivan Sekretarev)
The Associated Press
Former Russian Economic Development Minister Alexei Ulyukayev, center, smiles while waiting for his hearing at a court in Moscow, Russia, Friday, Dec. 15, 2017. A Moscow court is expected to deliver a verdict in the case of former Economic Development Minister Alexei Ulyukayev who is on trial for accepting a $2 million bribe from a close ally of President Vladimir Putin. (AP Photo/Ivan Sekretarev)
The Associated Press
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