Judge: Rosneft CEO unable to appear in court in 2017

MOSCOW, Nov 22 (PRIME) -- Igor Sechin, CEO of Russian state-controlled oil major Rosneft, has failed to come to a court hearing of a U.S. $2 million bribery case against former Economic Development Minister Alexei Ulyukayev for a third time in a row and will be unable to do it until the end of 2017, a judge said on Wednesday during the hearing.

“(Sechin’s) lawyer wrote that he is unable to come to court over a good reason. He has a tough schedule that has been coordinated previously,” the judge said, adding that the lawyer wrote that fulfillment of strategic goals set by Russia before Rosneft will keep Sechin from coming to court at least until the end of 2017.

But Sechin has no objections against a release of his testimony against Ulyukayev that he made during the investigation, the judge added.

Ulyukayev, the first government official arrested on suspicions of corruption, allegedly received the $2 million bribe in November 2016 for a positive outlook on privatization of oil company Bashneft by Rosneft. Now, he can face 15 years in prison if his guilt is proved. He pleaded not guilty in August 2017 and said it was a setup organized by Sechin and the Federal Security Service.

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