MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Ulyukyaev was detained earlier in the day for allegedly receiving $2 million for a positive appraisal that allowed Russian energy company Rosneft to buy the state's shares of Bashneft, the Russian Investigative Committee said.
"This detention will not affect the deal. A decision on privatization of Bashneft was not taken by Ulyukyaev but by the government," Ryabukhin told RIA Novosti.
He added that the deal was not likely to be reconsidered.
On October 12, Rosneft finalized a deal on the purchase of the state-owned stake in Bashneft, with about $5.2 billion to be transferred to the state budget. Ulyukyaev said at the time that there had been one more potential buyer who failed to outbid Rosneft.
The deal was agreed under the Russian 2016 economic development plan that specifies partial privatization of state assets to support budget revenue, which has suffered due to falling oil prices.
