Russia’s Economy Minister Alexey Ulyukayev has been dismissed from his post, as a court in Moscow ordered him to be placed under house arrest.

Mr. Ulyukayev is being investigated on charges that he took a USD2-million bribe and was involved in large-scale extortion. The official was dismissed from his Cabinet post by a presidential decree on November 15, 2016, Vladimir Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists. The decision was taken due to the President’s “loss of confidence” in the embattled official, Mr. Peskov said.

Mr. Ulyukayev was placed under house arrest for two months until January 2017. Mr. Ulyukayev reportedly demanded a bribe for granting a positive assessment of a transaction on the acquisition of Bashneft by Russia’s top oil company Rosneft. He was caught red-handed when receiving the bribe, Russia’s Investigative Committee announced earlier in the day on November 15.

According to the Investigative Committee, Mr. Ulyukayev threatened he would use the leverage provided by his ministerial post to hinder Rosneft’s operations. Rosneft’s representatives reported Mr. Ulyukayev’s alleged actions to the Investigative Committee.

“Thanks to Rosneft representatives’ timely disclosures to law enforcement authorities relative to the Economy Minister’s illegal actions, he was caught red-handed on November 14, 2016, while receiving a bribe of USD2 million,” deputy head of the Investigative Committee Svetlana Petrenko said in a statement.

Russian investigators had asked the court to order the house arrest of Mr. Ulyukayev, Ms. Petrenko said.

Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev has appointed Deputy Economy Minister Evgeny Yelin as Acting Economy Minister, a spokeswoman for the Prime Minister’s office said.

The interrogation, during which Mr. Ulyukayev officially had charges presented against him, lasted about five hours.

Mr. Ulyukayev did not plead guilty, an investigator at the Basmanny court said, noting that the suspect had declined to provide testimony.

Mr. Ulyukaev’s attorney Timofey Gridnev said in an interview with Business FM that his client claimed to be the victim of “a frame-up against a state official.”

Mr. Ulyukayev has been under investigation by Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) for over a year, a source said earlier. An investigator said some eyewitnesses testified against Mr. Ulyukaev, noting that the Minister had been caught red-handed.

Mr. Ulyukayev’s defense team argued there was no relevant evidence proving that the Minister took the bribe. Attorney Gridnev asked the court to change the pretrial measures from house arrest to travel restrictions.

The ex-minister told the court he was ready to cooperate with the investigation and asked for his pre-trial restrictions to be lifted, saying that he had two elderly parents who depended on him.

The court denied a softer measure for the ex-minister, saying that it “has grounds to believe” that Mr. Ulyukayev may otherwise “escape, interfere with witnesses, or in other ways impede the proceedings in the case.”

If proven guilty, Mr. Ulyukayev faces a maximum penalty of a fine ranging from 80 to 100 times the sum of the bribe. He can also be stripped of the right to serve in state positions for up to 15 years. He may also face from eight to 15 years behind bars.