29 Apr 2022 09:11

Russian court rules to release ex-minister Ulyukayev on parole - source

MOSCOW. April 29 (Interfax) - A court in the Russian city of Tver ruled in favor of a parole request from former Russian Economic Development Minister Alexei Ulyukayev, who was found guilty of taking a bribe, an informed source told Interfax on Thursday.

"The decision on Ulyukayev's release on parole was adopted on April 27, but he will remain in the penal colony until the ruling takes effect," the source said.

The Prosecutor's Office and the penal colony's administration "did not object to the former minister's release on parole and noted his good behavior," he said.

If the court ruling is not appealed, then, taking account of the May holidays, Ulyukayev will be able to leave the penitentiary by mid-May, the source said.

Interfax does not yet have official confirmation of this report.

Ulyukayev became the first federal minister detained in Russia's recent history. The day after his detention, which took place on November 14, 2016, Ulyukayev was placed under house arrest in his apartment on Minskaya Street in Moscow and was dismissed by President Vladimir Putin from his ministerial post due to loss of trust.

On December 15, 2017, the Zamoskvoretsky District Court of Moscow found Ulyukayev guilty of taking a $2 million bribe and sentenced him to eight years in a high-security penal colony. According to the sentence, the former minister was stripped of the right to hold public office and positions in state corporations for the same period. The ex-minister was also ordered to pay a fine of more than 130 million rubles, which he paid in full in 2018.

Ulyukayev, who pleaded not guilty, has been serving his sentence in Correctional Facility No. 1 near Tver.