Alexey Ulyukaev, Russia’s ex-minister of economic development, was released from prison on parole after 4.5 years, according to RIA Novosti.
His parole petition was accepted on 29 April. The journalists started gathering around the prison exit at 7 in the morning.
Ulyukaev left the prison grounds at half 11 in a black Land Rover. Ulyukaev was sentenced to eight years in prison and a 130 million rubles fine (€1.9 million) in 2017 for accepting a $2 million bribe, the prosecutor requested a 10 year prison term. The court ruled out that Ulyukaev committed bribe solicitation towards Igor Sechin, Putin’s close ally and CEO of Rosneft, a large energy company. In return for the bribe, Ulyukaev promised to approve the deal involving the Bashneft takeover and offered his patronage. Ulyukaev did not plead guilty and claimed that he fell ‘victim of Sechin’s provocation’.
