MOSCOW: Russia’s Investigative Committee said on Tuesday that it had detained Economy Minister Alexei Ulyukayev on suspicion of taking a two-million-dollar bribe over a massive deal involving state-controlled oil giant Rosneft. It claimed 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 deal last month. The statement does not say who gave the bribe to Ulyukayev. Spokeswoman Svetlana Petrenko told RIA Novosti news agency: “This is about extortion of a bribe from Rosneft representatives accompanied by threats.”“Ulyukayev was caught red-handed as he received a bribe,” she said. Leading business daily Vedomosti said ahead of the confirmation of the Bashneft sale that it “confirms that Russia is knowingly building state capitalism and monopolising the economy”.

Source: Manila Times November 15, 2016 03:45 UTC