A former economics minister of Russia has been sentenced to eight years in prison after being convicted of accepting a two million dollar (£1.5 million) bribe.
Alexei Ulyukayev, the highest-ranking Russian official to have been arrested since 1993, was told he would spend the term in maximum security prison.
He was detained last year at the headquarters of the country’s largest oil producer, Rosneft, after a sting operation by its main intelligence agency.
Ulyukayev denied the charges and said Rosneft’s chief executive Igor Sechin, a longtime ally of President Vladimir Putin, set him up.
A Moscow court on Friday also ordered Ulyukayev to pay a 2.2 million dollar (£1.6 million) fine.
Prosecutors earlier this month asked the court to send him to a high-security prison for 10 years.
