Prosecutors displayed a cardboard box with $2 million in cash, which they claim was a bribe, at the corruption trial of a former Russian economic development minister Alexei Ulyukayev, in Moscow, Russia, Wednesday, Nov. 8, 2017. Ulyukayev, the highest-ranking Russian official to have been arrested since 1993, was last year at the headquarters of Russia's largest oil producer, Rosneft, after a sting operation by Russia's main intelligence agency. (Anastasia Kornya, Vedomosti via AP)
November 08, 2017 - 1:09 AM
MOSCOW - Prosecutors have displayed $2 million in cash, which they claim was a bribe, at the corruption trial of a former Russian economic development minister.
Alexei Ulyukayev, the highest-ranking Russian official to have been arrested since 1993, was last year at the headquarters of Russia's largest oil producer, Rosneft, after a sting operation by Russia's main intelligence agency. Ulyukayev denies the charges and says Rosneft's CEO Igor Sechin set him up.
The circumstances of the case have ignited speculation that Ulyukayev fell victim to a Kremlin power play by Sechin, President Vladimir Putin's close associate.
Prosecutors at the hearing Wednesday brought in a cardboard box full of dollar banknotes, Russia news agencies reported.
Ulyukayev refused to answer the prosecutor when asked if he had received the cash.
News from © The Associated Press, 2017