Russian Minister of Economic Development Alexei Ulyukayev was detained 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.
"This is about extortion of a bribe from Rosneft representatives accompanied by threats," Russia's Investigative Committee spokeswoman Svetlana Petrenko said. "Ulyukayev was caught red-handed as he received a bribe," she added.
She stressed that "the acquisition of the Bashneft shares was carried out on a legal basis and is not the subject of the criminal investigation."
The Federal Security Service (FSB) had been tapping the Russian Economic Development Minister Alexey Ulyukayev's phone since early summer this year, Svetlana Petrenko noted. According to her, there were threats during the discussion of Bashneft's privatization from Ulyukayev's part.
"The circumstances of the crime are connected with Alexey Ulyukayev who holds a government post in the Russian Federation receiving $2 million on November 14 for the positive assessment provided by the Economic Development Ministry that allowed Rosneft to complete the deal on purchasing the government's 50% stake in Bashneft," TASS cited Russia's Investigative Committee spokesperson as saying.
"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.
A source said that Alexey Ulyukayev is the only suspect now. "There are no other suspects in the case. But the possible involvement of other persons will be investigated," TASS cited the source as saying.
"No investigative actions involving Ulyukayev were carried out last night. At the moment investigators are questioning him as a suspect. A restrictive measure will be selected afterwards," the source said.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said thew Russian President Vladimir Putin has been provided with all the information. "Certainly, a report has been given to the president, he is aware of it. He was given a report when the investigative activities began, he has been receiving all the information," Peskov stressed.
"In any case, only the court can decide anything. It is known that the court does not always agree with investigators, and vice versa," he added.
Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev is aware of the detention, the cabinet press service said, adding that the prime minister had discussed the matter with president Vladimir Putin and spoken out in favor of a thorough investigation.
"The prime minister believes a thorough investigation of this case needs to be conducted," the press service stressed.
Ulyukayev previously opposed the state companies’ participation in privatization deals calling for Bashneft’s stake sale on a competitive basis. Bashneft’s privatization was suspended after the governor of Bashkiria, Rustem Khamitov, sent a letter to the president. Khamitov suggested the postponement of privatization amid uncertainty over its social commitments to the republic, which holds 25% plus one share of the company.
In late September, the privatization process was resumed based on the assessment carried out by the Ernst & Young consulting company although other potential applicants considered it to be overestimated. So, Rosneft was the only contender to buy Bashneft’s stake.
The Russian government’s decree on selling Bashneft’s stake was signed on October 10. Two days later Rosneft closed the deal buying 50.08% of Bashneft from the state for 329.7 bln rubles ($5.2 bln). Bashkiria now holds 25% plus 1 share in Bashneft.
