MOSCOW, November 27. /TASS/. Former Russian Economic Development Minister Alexei Ulyukayev accused the head of Rosneft Igor Sechin of perjury. This is according to the record of interrogation of Ulyukayev, that was read out at the Zamoskvoretsky court in Moscow on Monday.

"Sechin is a perjurer, and I'm telling the truth. I have no explanation for this," Ulyukaev said when an investigator asked him why his testimony contradicted Sechin's statement about extortion.

Speaking in court Ulyukaev denied his guilt and said that he expected to find wine in the bag he received from Sechin, not $ 2 mln.

"Sechin provoked my visit to the office of Rosneft by deceptive means, he handed me the bag, if I had known what was in it, I would have refused to take it. Sechin concluded our meeting quickly not letting me understand the provocative nature of his actions," Ulyukaev said.

Ulyukayev's case

Ulyukayev was taken into custody on November 14, 2016, while allegedly receiving a $2 mln bribe in exchange for the Economic Development Ministry’s consent to give the go-ahead to the oil major Rosneft’s acquisition of a 50.08% stake in another oil company, Bashneft, and was subsequently put under house arrest. On November 15, 2016, President Vladimir Putin dismissed Ulyukayev from his high-ranking post citing loss of trust. The former minister has been under house arrest in his apartment in Moscow.