Prominent Russian Economist Sergei Sinelnikov-Murylev Ordered Under House Arrest in Bribery Probe

A Moscow district court ordered 66-year-old economist Sergei Sinelnikov-Murylev to remain under house arrest for two months while investigators pursue a large-scale bribery charge that could carry a sentence of up to 15 years. Sinelnikov-Murylev, a senior researcher at the Gaidar Institute for Economic Policy and former president of the Economic Development Ministry’s Russian Academy of Foreign Trade, has received state honors and a presidential commendation for his work on the 2018-24 national development strategy.

He joined the government’s expert council in December 2022. The court accepted the prosecution’s request, though the exact amount of the alleged bribe and the identities of any co-accused have not been disclosed. This follows his earlier arrest in April 2023 and a 2025 conviction for large-scale embezzlement and abuse of power, which resulted in a suspended five-and-half-year sentence. Court documents are posted on the court’s website.