Economic Minister Ulyukayev charged with bribe-taking

Russian Minister of Economic Development Alexei Ulyukayev, who was detained over night, was formally charged with bribery by investigators, Russia's Investigative Committee spokeswoman Svetlana Petrenko said.

Ulyukayev was detained today on suspicion of taking a two-million-dollar bribe over a massive deal involving state-controlled oil giant Rosneft. It alleged in a statement the minister received the money on Monday for giving the go-ahead for Rosneft to acquire a majority stake from the state in Russian oil company Bashneft in a $5.2 billion (4.84 billion euro) deal last month.

"The criminal case was opened based on Part 6 of Article 290 of the Russian Criminal Code — receiving a bribe in especially large amounts," she noted. This article envisages a fine worth from 80 to 100 times the amount of the bribe with the ban on holding certain positions or engaging in certain activities, or from 8 to 15 years in prison with a fine of 70 times the amount of the bribe or without a fine.

According to the investigators, Ulyukayev had illegally demanded from a representative of the oil company Rosneft a cash bribe in exchange for a legal positive conclusion and appraisal regarding a deal.

"The accused voiced threats he would use his official powers to create hindrances to the company’s operation in the future," Petrenko said.

Rosneft officials timely contacted the law enforcement agencies to lodge a complaint over Ulyukayev’s illegal actions on November 14.

At the same time, "the acquisition of the Bashneft shares was carried out on a legal basis and is not the subject of the criminal investigation," Petrenko added.