俄羅斯經濟部長因索賄被拘

Russian investigators have charged economy minister Alexei Ulyukaev with extorting a $2m bribe from state oil group Rosneft, as struggles over policy and power in President Vladimir Putin’s administration escalate.

俄羅斯調查人員對經濟部長阿列克謝.烏柳卡耶夫(Alexei Ulyukaev)提出刑事控罪，稱其向國有的俄羅斯石油公司(Rosneft)索要200萬美元賄賂。總統弗拉基米爾.普京(Vladimir Putin)政府內部圍繞政策和權力的鬥爭升級。

Mr Ulyukaev, a vocal proponent of liberal economic reform, is the Most senior government official to be detained in office since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.

烏柳卡耶夫積極發聲支持自由化經濟改革，他是自1991年蘇聯解體以來被拘留的級別最高的在職政府官員。

The Investigative Committee, the federal institution that probes large crimes, said Mr Ulyukaev was detained on Monday while receiving the bribe.

俄羅斯調查大型犯罪行爲的聯邦機構——偵查委員會(Investigative Committee)表示，烏柳卡耶夫週一在收受賄賂的時候當場被捕。

He had demanded money from Rosneft for a positive evaluation by his ministry, which allowed Rosneft to go ahead with a deal to acquire a 50 per cent stake in smaller state oil producer Bashneft, the committee said.

該委員會表示，他向俄羅斯石油公司索要這筆錢，以換取經濟部做出一個積極評價，讓俄羅斯石油公司得以推進收購較小國有石油公司Bashneft 50%股份的交易。

A Moscow court yesterday put Mr Ulyukaev under house arrest for two months, granting an investigators’ request.

莫斯科一家法庭昨日應調查人員的要求，裁決將烏柳卡耶夫軟禁兩個月。

Dmitry Medvedev, prime minister, said Mr Putin had been informed of the detention and probe from its outset, but it remains unclear for how long Mr Ulyukaev had been watched.

俄羅斯總理德米特里.梅德韋傑夫(Dmitry Medvedev)表示，普京從一開始就獲知了拘留和調查烏柳卡耶夫的情況，但目前依然不清楚的是，烏柳卡耶夫進入調查人員的視線已有多久。

Mr Putin has dismissed Mr Ulyukaev from his ministerial post after losing trust in him following the corruption investigation, the president’s press secretary said last night.

普京新聞祕書昨晚表示，普京在這起腐敗調查曝光後失去了對烏柳卡耶夫的信任，已免去他的部長職務。

Yevgeny Yelin, one of Mr Ulyukaev’s deputies,has been appointed acting minister.

烏柳卡耶夫的副手之一葉夫根尼.葉林(Yevgeny Yelin)被任命爲代理部長。

Mr Ulyukaev denies the charges, his lawyer Timofei Gridnev said: [He] has not admitted to the charges.

烏柳卡耶夫否認針對他的刑事指控，其律師Timofei Gridnev表示：（他）不承認這些指控。

He thinks that what happened yesterday in the office of Rosneft is a provocation.

他認爲昨日在俄羅斯石油公司辦公室發生的事情是一種挑釁。

Rosneft’s $5bn acquisition of Bashneft was controversial from the start, as the sale to another state-owned group ran counter to the original goal of privatising the asset.

俄羅斯石油公司斥資50億美元收購Bashneft的交易從一開始就是有爭議的，因爲國企之間的股權交易與私有化的初始目標相悖。

The state seized Bashneft from its oligarch owner, Vladimir Yevtushenkov, two years ago after finding the original privatisation illegal.

兩年前，在發現最初私有化非法之後，政府從其寡頭所有者弗拉基米爾.葉夫圖申科夫(Vladimir Yevtushenkov)那裏扣押了Bashneft。

Mr Medvedev had opposed the sale to Rosneft and tried to stop it, and Mr Ulyukaev had spoken against it.

梅德韋傑夫此前反對將Bashneft出售給俄羅斯石油公司，並試圖阻止該交易，而烏柳卡耶夫也曾表態反對這筆交易。

But Mr Putin said Rosneft could not be barred from the acquisition.

但普京表示，無法阻止俄羅斯石油公司完成這筆收購交易。

Mr Putin’s administration has a history of infighting between aides whose career backgrounds range from former spies to economists, often pitting them against each other ideologically or in power struggles.

普京政府有過下屬爭鬥的歷史，往往讓他們在意識形態或權力爭鬥中彼此對抗。

One of the most powerful of them is Igor Sechin, the Rosneft chief executive who long served as Mr Putin’s personal secretary.

這些下屬當中有的是前情報人員，有的是經濟學家，其中最有權勢的人物之一是俄羅斯石油公司首席執行官伊戈爾.謝欽(Igor Sechin)，他曾長期擔任普京的個人祕書。

Rosneft declined to comment on the detention.

俄羅斯石油公司拒絕就烏柳卡耶夫被拘置評。

The Bashneft stake was acquired in accordance with Russian law based on the best offer made to the advising bank, it said.

該公司表示：相關Bashneft股份是按照俄羅斯法律、基於向顧問銀行提交的最佳報價獲得的。

Mr Sechin also declined to comment.

謝欽也拒絕置評。