Ex-minister Ulyukaev was released on parole after 5.5 years in prison

on parole Former Minister of Economic Development Alexei Ulyukaev was released from the Tver colony, where he was serving a sentence on extorting a bribe from the head of Rosneft, Igor Sechin. He refused to talk to the journalists who were waiting for him at the exit from IK No. 1, reports . Interfax

At the end of April, the Tver court granted the request of Ulyukaev's lawyer for his parole. The prosecutor's office and the administration of the colony did not object. Ten working days later, the decision came into force.

Ulyukaev was detained in November 2016, it was the first detention of a serving federal minister in modern Russia. Vladimir Putin dismissed Ulyukaev due to the loss of confidence only the next day after his arrest.

Before the court decision, the ex-minister was under house arrest. In December 2017, the court found him guilty of taking a $2 million bribe from Igor Sechin, head of Rosneft, for a positive assessment issued by the Ministry of Economic Development, which allowed Rosneft to acquire the state-owned stake in Bashneft. Ulyukaev received eight years in a strict regime colony and was fined more than 130 million rubles.

The ex-minister did not plead guilty during the trial, saying that a provocation had been committed against him. The main evidence in the bribe-taking at the trial was covert surveillance and wiretapping recordings. The Bell in 2017 published exclusive audio and video of the talks between Sechin and Ulyukaev.