With Contador's help, Vinokourov won the 2010 Liège–Bastogne–Liège, six seconds clear of breakaway companion Alexandr Kolobnev with Spain's Alejandro Valverde coming in third, more than a minute after the pair. In December 2011, Swiss magazine "L'Illustre" ran a story about how Vinokourov had allegedly bought the victory. It was revealed that Kolobnev (who was not on the same team) received a payment of 100,000 Euros after the race from a bank account owned by the Kazakh in Monaco to Kolobnev's bank account in Locarno. The magazine published the e-mail exchange between the two, which started the day after the race. In these, Kolobnev wonders if he had done the right thing by letting him win and shares a copy of his bank info, expressing concerns that they may get caught. Vinokourov replied: "You have done everything properly, do not worry. As you say, the Earth is round and God sees everything [...] Do not worry about the agreement, I will do it." Vinokourov did not deny a payment was made, but said that he did not buy the race: "It's another story to blacken my name. I often loan money left and right." In 2015 investigators in Liege recommended that Vinokourov be tried for bribery. A trial date was initially fixed for March 2017, but has been postponed and is slated to begin in May 2018. On 12 September 2019, prosecutors requested for Vinokourov and Kolobnev to be sentenced to six months in prison and Vinokourov to be fined €100,000. on 5 November 2019, Vinokourov was cleared of the charge of fraud, with the judge citing "lack of concrete evidence" for the court's decision.