Alexei Ulyukayev, Russia's former economy minister, convicted of soliciting bribes

Ulyukayev was arrested in November 2016 for demanding a 2-million-dollar bribe from Rosneft CEO Igor Sechin for supporting Rosneft's acquisition of state-owned oil company Bashneft. Last Friday (Dec. 15), Ulyukayev was sentenced to eight years in a prison colony and fined 130 million rubles (nearly 2 million euros). The muddled trial drew mixed reactions and many Russian observers say the case was politically motivated.