Simeon Djankov, a former Bulgarian Finance Minister, has stepped down as rector of the New Economic School in Moscow (also known as the Russian School of Economics, RES), RBC Daily reports.

The business news outlet writes there is "mutual consent' about the move after Djankov has taken the office since 2013. Djankov is not leaving the Board of Directors of RES.

Djankov took over Sergei Guriev, who resigned and fled Russia amidst a trial related to former oil giant YUKOS launched by "experts" who called into question the sentence of ex-YUKOS chair Mikhail Khodorkovsky.

This is not the first office Djankov is leaving in 2015. In April, he stepped down from the VTB Bank's Supervisory Council he had joined a year earlier.

In Bulgaria, as Finance Minister between 2009 and 2013, he was known for strict adherence to austerity policies and controversial remarks about issues ranging from budget policy to the Bulgarian Academy of Science. He resigned amid mounting pressure on the government, days before PM Boyko Borisov (then in his first term) announced he was also stepping down.

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