Russian economy minister arrested in bribe investigation

Russia's economic development minister Alexei Ulyukayev was arrested overnight in a sting operation after being accused of accepting a £1.6m bribe over a deal involving Rosneft.

An investigative committee were looking into a deal for oil giant Rosneft to buy a 50% stake in another large oil company, Bashneft, which Ulyukayev's ministry signed off on.

The formerly state-owned Bashneft was put up for sale earlier this year, and Rosneft's bid to acquire the company was heavily criticised by many liberal commentators, including Ulyukayev.

A spokesperson for the investigative committee alleged that a bribe was extorted from the minister from Rosneft representatives.

"This is about extortion of a bribe from Rosneft representatives accompanied by threats," Svetlana Petrenko told the RIA Novosti news agency. "Ulyukayev was caught red-handed as he received a bribe," she added.

Russian president Vladimir Putin has for years spoken of cracking down on corruption at the highest levels, but many critics have pointed out that it remains widespread throughout the government.

Ulyukayev is reportedly still being questioned by the authorities, before he appears in front of a court later on Tuesday to defend his actions.