MOSCOW (Sputnik) – Moscow’s Zamoskvoretsky court will begin on August 8 hearings in the case of former Economic Development Minister Alexei Ulyukayev, charged with bribery, a court’s spokeswoman told Sputnik on Wednesday.
"The hearing on criminal case with respect to defendant Ulyukayev will begin on August 8," the spokeswoman said.
Ulyukayev, 61, has been charged with extorting a $2-million bribe from state oil company Rosneft, in the first ever corruption case involving a federal minister. Ulyukayev, who denies his guilt, is facing up to 15 years in prison.
The Investigative Committee said in November that Ulyukayev was caught in the act of accepting a $2-million bribe for a positive appraisal that allowed Russian energy company Rosneft to buy the state's shares of the Bashneft oil company.
