Former Russian minister testified: 'I thought the $2 million bag was a bottle of expensive wine'

The trial of former Russian economy minister Alexei Ulyukayev on charges of taking multi-million dollar bribes has just taken place in Moscow.

According to Reuters news agency, at the trial on November 27, Mr. Alexei Ulyukayev - Former Russian Minister of Economy accused of accepting bribes, said that he thought the gift bag containing 2 million USD in cash he received from the CEO of Rosneft oil company, Mr. Igor Sechin, only contained a bottle of expensive wine.

Mr Ulyukayev faces up to 15 years in prison if convicted of accepting a $2 million bribe from Mr Sechin, a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Former Russian Economy Minister Alexei Ulyukayev, accused of bribery, appeared in court on November 27 in Moscow, Russia. Photo: REUTERS

According to prosecutors, the bribe took place on November 14 last year in exchange for Rosneft's approval of its purchase of state-owned oil company Bashneft.

At that time, police arrested former economy minister Ulyukayev inside Rosneft headquarters, shortly after Mr. Sechin handed him the bribe in a brown zip-lock bag. The next day, President Putin announced that Mr. Ulyukayev was fired.

In court on November 27, Mr. Ulyukayev said he thought the bag contained a gift but it turned out to be a trap set for him.

"All this was directed at me, it was premeditated, it was a pre-arranged provocation," Mr. Ulyukayev said.

Mr Ulyukayev's lawyers are trying to explain to the court why he accepted the bag from Mr Sechin, despite the fact that, according to the transcript of their conversation, neither of them said anything about what was in the bag.

Mr Ulyukayev said that when he was economy minister, Mr Sechin visited his ministry two or three times and often arrived with “a big bag” full of gifts.

According to the former Russian Minister of Economy, during that time, Mr. Sechin also gave him a watch and a model of an oil rig, and he also sent gift baskets of cakes on special occasions such as birthdays.

A prosecutor said Mr Ulyukayev had also received gifts of alcohol from Mr Sechin.

“It was a matter of etiquette” from Mr Sechin’s perspective, Mr Ulyukayev told the court.

Mr Ulyukayev added that the bag Mr Sechin gave him last year at Rosneft headquarters weighed about 15kg and he thought it contained an expensive bottle of wine.

According to Mr. Ulyukayev, about a month earlier, Mr. Sechin had also promised to give him a bottle of wine that "he had never tasted in his life" to mark the successful completion of the Bashneft privatization deal. For these reasons, Mr. Ulyukayev said he was surprised to find money in his pocket.

Mr. Sechin has not yet appeared in court despite being a key witness and the court having issued four summonses. His lawyer sent a letter to the court informing them that Mr. Sechin is on a business trip.

According to Kienthuc.net.vn