Ex-minister's harsh jail sentence sends shockwaves through Russian elite

Former economy minister Alexei Ulyukayev sentenced to eight years in prison and fined $2.2m for soliciting bribe

A Moscow court has sentenced a former Russian economy minister to eight years in a high-security prison for corruption, in a verdict that is likely to send chills through the Russian elite.

Alexei Ulyukayev was also ordered to pay a $2.2m (1.7m) fine as part of the punishment for soliciting a $2m bribe from Igor Sechin, the chief executive of the state oil company Rosneft, who is widely seen as the second most powerful man in Russia after Vladimir Putin.