Anastasia Vashukevich
Anastasia Vashukevich, also known as Nastya Rybka is a Belarusian model and sex worker who claimed to have evidence linking Russian billionaire Oleg Deripaska and Deputy Prime Minister Prikhodko to Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election.[1]
U.S. election audio recordings
In early 2018 Vashukevich reached out to the American government seeking asylum in exchange for information and 16 hours of audio recordings she made in August 2016, that could shed light on possible Russian interference in American elections.[2] Vashukevich said she was close to Oleg Deripaska, a Russian oligarch with ties to Putin and business links to Paul Manafort, and claimed the recorded voices included Deripaska's discussing the 2016 presidential election with other people, some tapes including three fluent English speakers who she believed were Americans. In February 2018, Alexei Navalny released a video about a meeting between Deripaska and Deputy Prime Minister Prikhodko. In the video, Navalny said Deripaska probably served as a liaison between the Russian government and Paul Manafort in connection with Russian interference efforts.[2] Through a spokesman, Mr. Deripaska denied bribery allegations presented in the video.
Soon after Rybka was arrested, Navalny began posting more of her photographs on his website, then, in retaliation, the Russian internet agency Roskomnadzor passed a law severely restricting the World Wide Web[3] and Navalny's website, which was on the Telegram network, at one point blocking 18 million sites. [4] Major demonstrations followed before things began to return to normal.[citation needed]
In August 2018, Rybka said she had sent the recordings to Deripaska without having made them public, hoping he would be able to gain her release from prison.[5] She said promised to Deripaska not to make any comment further on the recordings' contents.[6] In 2018, Deripaska won a legal case in Russia against Vashukevich for the invasion of his privacy by the public availability of videos and photos of the two of them together.[7]
Arrest and release
Rybka was arrested at the Moscow Airport in January 2019. After videos of Rybka being violently arrested and pleading for her life in court were leaked to the press, Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko demanded her release.[8] The court promptly did so, though Rybka remains a suspect.[9]
References
- ^ "Model Who Claimed to Have Dirt on Paul Manafort-Linked Russian Billionaire Just Got Out of Jail". lawandcrime.com. Retrieved 22 January 2019.
- ^ a b Paddock, Richard C. (March 5, 2018). "Escort Says Audio Recordings Show Russian Meddling in U.S. Election". The New York Times. Retrieved March 5, 2018.
- ^ MacFarquhar, Neil (April 30, 2018). "'They Want to Block Our Future': Thousands Protest Russia's Internet Censorship". The New York Times. Retrieved January 22, 2019.
- ^ "Russia internet ban blocks Telegram and millions of websites, including Google and Amazon IP addresses — Quartz". index.qz.com. Retrieved 22 January 2019.
- ^ Paddock, Richard C. (August 31, 2018). "She Gambled on Her Claim to Link Russians and Trump. She Is Losing". The New York Times. Retrieved August 31, 2018.
- ^ Kaewjinda, Kaweewit (August 20, 2018). "Belarusian Escort Says She Made a Deal With an Oligarch to Keep Quiet About Russian Meddling". Time. Associated Press. Retrieved August 31, 2018.
- ^ Maza, Cristina (August 20, 2018). "Belarusian Escort Says She Gave Evidence of Russian Election Interference to Manafort-Linked Oligarch". Newsweek. Retrieved August 31, 2018.
- ^ "Kremlin escort girl at liberty. Lukashenka gets interested in case". belsat.eu. Retrieved 22 January 2019.
- ^ "Russia Frees Model who Claimed Trump Secrets from Police Custody". The Moscow Times. January 22, 2019. Retrieved January 22, 2019.