Court finds former minister Ulyukayev guilty of bribery

MOSCOW, Dec 15 (PRIME) -- The Zamoskvoretsky District Court of Moscow found former Economic Development Minister Alexei Ulyukayev guilty of bribery on Friday.

“Ulyukayev is guilty of receiving a bribe while being a (state) official,” Judge Larisa Semyonova said.

The announcement of the sentence continues. Prosecutors asked to put Ulyukayev in prison for 10 years and fine him 500 million rubles.

Ulyukayev, the first government official arrested on suspicions of corruption, allegedly received a U.S. $2 million bribe in November 2016 for a positive outlook on privatization of oil company Bashneft by Rosneft. He pleaded not guilty in August 2017 and said it was a setup organized by Rosneft CEO Igor Sechin and the Federal Security Service.

(58.7082 rubles – U.S. $1)

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