A former Russian economic development minister has been found guilty of accepting a £1.5 million bribe from a top ally of President Vladimir Putin.
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 by Russia’s main intelligence agency.
Ulyukayev denied the charges and said Rosneft’s influential chief executive Igor Sechin set him up.
The judge on Friday found Ulyukayev guilty but has yet to sentence him.
Prosecutors earlier this month asked the court to send him to a high-security prison for ten years as well as fining him roughly £3.7 million.