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Alexei Ulyukayev: Putin's former economy minister found guilty of corruption | Alexei Ulyukayev: Putin's former economy minister found guilty of corruption |
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Russia’s ex-economics minister Alexei Ulyukayev has been found guilty of accepting a bribe, a Moscow judge announced on Friday morning. | Russia’s ex-economics minister Alexei Ulyukayev has been found guilty of accepting a bribe, a Moscow judge announced on Friday morning. |
Judge Larisa Semenova began reading her verdict at 11.30am local time — aloud in mantra, as is customary in Russia. It may take several hours to come to the full conclusion and understand whether the former cabinet minister will receive a custodial sentence. | |
Mr Ulyukayev was responsible for the Russian economy until he was arrested in a sting operation on the night of 15 November 2016, becoming the first cabinet minister to be arrested since the 1950s. His downfall was orchestrated by Rosneft chief Igor Sechin, a powerful associate of Vladimir Putin, who handed the minister a bag containing $2m. | |
Mr Ulyukayev insists he understood the bag contained fine wine, and in court repeatedly challenged Mr Sechin to appear for cross-examination. On four occasions, the Rosneft chief refused. | |
The judge mumbled nervously while reading the verdict, outlining the circumstances of the crime. In almost every detail, she sided with the prosecution. On 5 October, at a conference in Goa, Mr Ulyukayev demanded a $2m bribe from Mr Sechin, she said. He repeated the demand in a telephone conversation on 14 November. This did not seem consistent with recordings or transcripts leaked to BBC Russia. | |
Last week, prosecutors demanded a harsh 10 year sentence in a prison colony. Mr Ulyukayev, 62, likened this to a “death sentence.” | |
In his final statement, he insisted on his innocence and compared his case to Stalinist show trials. “Don’t ask for whom the bell tolls,” he said. “It tolls for you.” |