Failed Ikea bribe leaves man jailed in Moscow
A Turkish national was convicted in a Moscow court on bribery and extortion charges and sentenced to five years behind bars for helping a Swedish executive at retail giant Ikea extort a bribe, Russian police said.
Okan Yunalan was sentenced to five years for his participation in a scheme to extort a bribe of 6.5 million roubles ($198,393), the interior ministry said in a statement.
Police are still looking for the other two suspects, which include former Ikea executive Carl Ola.
Yunalan will spend his jail term in a prison colony, the police said. It was not clear in the statement when the hearing took place.
Yunalan was arrested in April 2011 red-handed in a Moscow coffee shop receiving a bribe of $255,000 from a businessman who was interested in renting space in Ikea's Mega shopping centre south of Moscow.
According to the investigation, he was acting in the interests of Ola, who headed Ikea's Russian subsidiary that handles real estate. Ikea has issued little comment only confirming that its former employees are under investigation.
Police previously said that Ola, who is accused of orchestrating the plot, and a second alleged accomplice, another Turkish national, were abroad and Russia was requesting extradition.
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Okan Yunalan was sentenced to five years for his participation in a scheme to extort a bribe of 6.5 million roubles ($198,393), the interior ministry said in a statement.
Police are still looking for the other two suspects, which include former Ikea executive Carl Ola.
Yunalan will spend his jail term in a prison colony, the police said. It was not clear in the statement when the hearing took place.
Yunalan was arrested in April 2011 red-handed in a Moscow coffee shop receiving a bribe of $255,000 from a businessman who was interested in renting space in Ikea's Mega shopping centre south of Moscow.
According to the investigation, he was acting in the interests of Ola, who headed Ikea's Russian subsidiary that handles real estate. Ikea has issued little comment only confirming that its former employees are under investigation.
Police previously said that Ola, who is accused of orchestrating the plot, and a second alleged accomplice, another Turkish national, were abroad and Russia was requesting extradition.
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