Russian ex-minister jailed over £1.5m bribe

A Russian former cabinet minister was yesterday jailed for eight years after he was found guilty of accepting a £1.5million bribe.

Alexei Ulyukayev was arrested in November 2016 when as economic development minister he was caught “in the act” of receiving a suitcase containing the bribe in exchange for supporting Rosneft, a state oil giant, buying Bashneft, another oil firm. Ulyukayev, 61, claims he thought the case contained a gift of fine wines.