Russian ex-minister on trial for bribery blames Putin ally
MOSCOW — Breaking months of silence, the former Russian economic development minister on trial for allegedly accepting a $2 million bribe publicly accused the head of Russia’s oil company on Wednesday of setting him up.
Alexei Ulyukayev, the highest-ranking Russian official to have been arrested since 1993, was detained last year at the headquarters of Russia’s largest oil producer, Rosneft, after a sting operation set up by the FSB intelligence agency. The circumstances of the case have ignited speculation that Ulyukayev fell victim to a Kremlin power play by Igor Sechin, chief executive of Rosneft and President Vladimir Putin’s close associate.
Ulyukayev, who has been under house arrest since last November, testified in court Wednesday that he was set up by Sechin, saying the CEO had invited him to his office and handed him the briefcase with cash.
“The FSB had plotted how to hand over the money,” Ulyukayev told the court. “Sechin called me, said he needed to talk about the corporation’s affairs and convinced me to come over to Rosneft, where he gave me the money.”