Anastasia Vashukevich

Anastasia Vashukevich (Russian: Анастасия Вашукевич; born 27 February 1990, Babruysk, Byelorussian SSR), also known as Nastya Rybka (Russian: Настя Рыбка), is a Belarusian escort, model, recording artist, blogger and author who, while fearing death in a Thai jail,[1] claimed to have evidence linking Russian billionaire Oleg Deripaska and Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Prikhodko to Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election.[2][3]

During 2016 to 2017, Vashukevich met with Oleg Deripaska at least three times: during August 2016[lower-alpha 1] on Deripaska's yacht Elden[lower-alpha 2] off the coast of Norway[lower-alpha 3] with Sergei Prikhodko,[lower-alpha 4] during September to October 2016 in southern Russia at Deripaska's mansion, and during January 2017 at Lech, Austria, with United States lobbyist Adam Waldman of the firm Endeavor Group.[10] As of January 2019, Vashukevich has written three books about her relationship with Deripaska: Who Wants to Seduce a Billionaire (Russian: Дневник соблазнения миллиардера, или клон для олигарха lit. The Billionaire Seduction Diary, or Clone for the Oligarch) (ISBN 978-5-699-93242-9); Eurotrash, How to Seduce the Rich for the Poor (Russian: Евротрэш. Соблазнение богатых для бедных); and a third unpublished book.[10]

Released in September 2017 in collaboration with Alex Lesley,[lower-alpha 5] Vashukevich's book Eurotrash, How to Seduce the Rich for the Poor details her trip to Lech, Austria, in early January 2017 with Oleg Deripaska to meet with Adam Waldman, who through Waldman's firm, Endeavor Group, has been a lobbyist for Deripaska since 2009[lower-alpha 6] and for Julian Assange.[lower-alpha 7] On 12–13 January 2017, Adam Waldman met with Julian Assange just days after Waldman's Lech, Austria, meeting in a bar at Deripaska's five star Aurelio Hotel with Deripaska and Vashukevich on 7 January 2017.[14][16] Vashukevich made a video recording with her phone of the 7 January 2017 meeting in the bar.[16]

In her unpublished book, she describes a three-day trip during the fall of 2016 to Deripaska's mansion near Krasnodar where an important-looking man arrived in an all terrain vehicle to discuss issues with Deripaska.[10] Vashukevich recorded these meetings with her phone hidden behind some books.[10]

Vashukevich said that she was close to Oleg Deripaska,[17] a Russian oligarch with ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin and business links to Paul Manafort. She claimed the recorded voices included Deripaska's discussing the 2016 presidential election with other people, including at least three fluent English speakers who she believed were Americans.[18][lower-alpha 8] On 8 February 2018, activist Alexei Navalny released a video[22] using material obtained by Vashukevich about an August 2016 meeting between Deripaska and Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Prikhodko in which United States and Russia foreign policy was discussed as well as Prikhodko's friend United States diplomat Victoria Nuland and the 2016 United States elections.[4][14] In the video, Navalny claimed Deripaska probably served as a liaison between the Russian government and Manafort in connection with Russian interference efforts in United States elections.[14][23] Navalny correlates Vashukevich's book Who Wants to Seduce a Billionaire to persons, settings, and events in the Vashukevich film.[4] In the video known as Fishgate, Fish Gate or Rybka Gate (Russian: «Рыбка-гейт»), Navalny explains the characters and setting for Nastya Rybka's book Who Wants to Seduce a Billionaire: Ruslan Zolotov is Deripaska, Papa is Prikhodko, Vitya or Victor is Yevgeny Agarkov and the Rybka book's setting of Greenland is actually Norway.[4][7] Rybka refers to Papa as Richelieu, or a Cardinal in the Kremlin who is the person actually responsible for Russia's foreign policy during the governments of Boris Yeltsin, Vladimir Putin, and Dmitri Medvedev.[4][7] Through Adam Waldman,[14] Deripaska has denied bribery allegations presented in the video.[24]

Deripaska filed a lawsuit in Deripaska's hometown court at Ust-Labinsk, Krasnodar Krai, Russia, against Rybka and Leslie for publishing material about him.[25][26] On 10 February 2018, Roskomnadzor placed Navalny's website and his investigation video on the prohibited log.[25][26] On 24 February 2018, Navalny removed his investigation video from his website.[25]

Arrest in Thailand

On 25 February 2018, Vashukevich was arrested at a hotel in Pattaya, Thailand, and held at Nong Pla Lai Prison.[10][27] According to Vladimir Sosnov, the head of the consular department of the Russian embassy in Thailand, Rybka was one of ten Russian experts on lovemaking that were detained "awaiting trial and deportation from Thailand."[21][28][29] While in custody,[3] she reached out to the American government seeking asylum in exchange for photographs and 16 hours of audio recordings she made in August 2016, that could shed light on possible Russian interference in American elections.[23][30] She was visited by FSB, CIA, and many times by Vladimir Pronin, the Russia consul for the Pattaya consular district, but the FBI was not allowed to visit because Thai officials only allowed visitors that were legal representatives for her and her family members.[10][31] According to Jillian Bonnardeaux spokesperson for the United States embassy in Bangkok, all matters involving asylum are directed to Kirstjen Nielsen and the Department of Homeland Security.[18][lower-alpha 9] Vladimir Pronin gained her release for time served if she left Thailand which she did and, according to court order, returned to Belarus.[7][10] According to Navalny, Deripaska wanted her to spend time in prison and had Tatyana Valerianovna Monegen (Russian: Татьяна Валериановна Монэгэн) and George Oganov (Russian: Георгий Оганов) explain to an English-speaking attorney William that Deripaska was not happy with deportation but wanted prison for Vashukevich.[7][lower-alpha 10] Vashukevich believed that Nikolai Patrushev who had traveled to Thailand was involved.[21][lower-alpha 11]

Disruption to Russian websites

Soon after Vashukevich was arrested, Navalny began posting more of her photographs on his website. The Russian internet agency Roskomnadzor restricted access to Navalny's website,[32] which was on the Telegram network, also blocking as many as 18 million other sites,[33] and triggering anti-censorship demonstrations against Putin.[32]

Relinquishment of recordings, apology

In August 2018, Vashukevich said she had sent the audio recordings to Deripaska without making them public, hoping he would be able to gain her release from prison.[34] She said she promised Deripaska she would not make any further comment on the recordings' contents.[35] In court, Vashukevich apologized to Deripaska and Prikhodko.[24]

In 2018, Deripaska won a legal case in Deripaska's hometown court at Ust-Labinsk, Krasnodar Krai, Russia, against Vashukevich for the invasion of his privacy by the public availability of videos and photos of the two of them together.[16][36] Deripaska sued for 1 million rubles from each Vashukevich and Kirillov but the court set the payment at 500,000 rubles for each Vashukevich and Kirillov.[16][37]

Arrest and release

Vashukevich was arrested at Sheremetyevo Airport Moscow in January 2019 while in transit from Thailand to Belarus for reportedly drawing people into prostitution.[12][38] After videos showing her being violently arrested and pleading for her life in court were leaked to the press, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko demanded her release.[12] She was immediately released.[39] Vashukevich said she was warned not to discuss Deripaska while in Russian custody. She said her claims about him were intended to save her from death while detained in Thailand.[1]

Since her release, she has stated that she wants to have an appointment in person with Belarus president Lukashenko so that someday she could be elected a deputy in her hometown Babruysk.[40]

Personal life

Born Anastasia Kostina (Russian: Анастасия Костина; Belarusian: Настасся Косціна) on 27 February 1990 in Babruysk, Byelorussian SSR, when her mother, a well-known ophthalmologist, was forty.[41][42] She has no siblings.[42]

She attended night school after being expelled from school in ninth grade.[42] She became pregnant when she was 16 and married to become Anastasia Semenchuk (Russian: Анастасия Семенчук; Belarusian: Анастасія Семянчук).[42] She had a son Yury (Russian: Юрий).[42] She attended the institute in Belarus Mazyr and received an environmental degree in absentia.[42] She was 18 when she started a romance on the side; later, she divorced.[42]

Her second marriage was to Nikolai Vashukevich (Russian: Николай Вашукевич; Belarusian: Мікалай Вашукевіч) but she left him and the 11-year-old son Yuri for Moscow.[42] Upon her return to Moscow in January 2019, Nikolai Vashukevich filmed the extremely rough treatment and arrest of Anastasia Vashukevich by Moscow police at the Sheremetyevo International Airport.[38]

Kseniya Sobchak has publicly defended Anastaia Vashukevich.[43]

Works

Notes
  1. On 5 August 2016, two of Deripaska's private jets flew to Molde Airport a remote airport 5 kilometers (3.1 mi) east of Molde in Norway: M-ALAY from Moscow and M-UGIC from Montenegro.[4]
  2. Elden (Russian: ЭЛДЕН), the smaller of Deripaska's two yachts, is a 29-meter super luxury yacht. His larger yacht is the 2,000 ton Queen K which is usually seen in warmer climates.[5] According to Alexei Navalny, the actual owner of Elden is Yevgeny Agarkov.[6][7]
  3. During early August 2013, Deripaska and his yacht Elden stayed in the resort of Sjøgarden at Flatset in Averøy in Nordmøre Norway.[8][9]
  4. According to Navalny, many consider Prikhodko more influential on Russia foreign affairs than Sergei Lavrov.[4]
  5. Anastasiya Vashukevich is also known as Nastya Rybka and Aleksandr Kirillov (Russian: Александр Кириллов; Belarusian: Аляксандр Кірылаў) is also known as Alex Lesley or Alex Leslie (Russian: Алекс Лесли) (b. 1982 Vitebsk, Belorussian SSR).[11][12][13]
  6. Adam Waldman through his Endeavor Group was hired as counsel for Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in 2009-10 to help expedite Oleg Deripaska obtaining a United States visa to travel to the United States.[14] Many payments from Deripaska to Waldman went through numerous offshore shell companies including firms in Jersey, the British Virgin Islands, Belize and firms associated with anonymous ownership Cyprus firms such as the Sea Chaika Corporation, a Deripaska firm that appears in the Panama Papers.[14] In 2010, Carolyn Mansfield was a managing director of the Endeavor Group.[15]
  7. Adam Waldman visited the Ecuadorian embassy in London to meet with Julian Assange nine times during 2017: 12, 13, and 27 January; twice in late March; three times in April; and twice at the end of November 2017.[14]
  8. During emails sent 29 and 31 July 2016, Konstantin Kilimnik and Paul Manafort decided to meet in New York City on 2 August 2016.[19] During the evening of the 2 August 2016 Manafort and Kilimnik meeting in the Grand Havana Club at Jared Kushner owned 666 Fifth Avenue,[19] M-ALAY flew from Moscow to Newark, New Jersey, and after the Manafort-Kilimnik meeting it returned the next morning to Moscow on 3-4 August.[20] It then flew to Molde, Norway, on 5 August 2016 while M-UGIC flew from Montenegro to Molde on 5 August 2016, also.[20] Navalny states that Deripaska flew on M-UGIC from Montenegro to Molde and Sergei Prikhodko flew on M-ALAY from Moscow to Molde.[4][20] Vashukevich believes that others were aboard the flights, too.[21]
  9. On 28 February 2018, the Radio Free Europe website displayed photos of her asylum request that had been delivered to the United States embassy in Thailand by Ukrainian-American, Pavlo Yunko.[30] The note signed by the ten persons detained by Thai authorities including Vashukevich stated that they had "run out of Russia to Thailand" because they had been "repressed by Russia" for the materials they had including "photo-video-audio of crymes of Russian government" ... "about US Relations with russia".[30]
  10. Tatyana Valerianovna Monegen has been secretary general of the Russian branch of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) which Oleg Deripaska founded.[7] Both his Rusal and the Russian branch of ICC have the same phone number.[7] According to Nalvany, Tatyana Monegen assists Deripaska in finding escorts.[7] George Oganov is a former Russian diplomat who was press secretary for the Russian embassy in the United States and, as of 2019, is on the board of directors of Basic Element and is an advisor to its president Oleg Deripaska.[7]
  11. The Mueller Report was submitted to Barr on March 22, 2018, but no one interviewed Vashukevich during the Muller Investigation.

References
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  2. Kalmbacher, Colin (22 January 2019). "Model Who Claimed to Have Dirt on Paul Manafort-Linked Russian Billionaire Just Got Out of Jail". lawandcrime.com. Retrieved 22 January 2019.
  3. Hunter, Brad (27 January 2019). "A sex guru, party girls, oligarchs, Putin and Trump". Toronto Sun. Retrieved 5 February 2020.
  4. Navalny, Alexei (8 February 2018). "Oligarch, yacht, US elections rigging and escort ladies". Фонд борьбы с коррупцией (ФБК). Retrieved 5 February 2020.
  5. Sutton, H. I. (5 November 2018). "Yacht tracking: Russian yacht Elden". hisutton.com. Retrieved 5 February 2020.
  6. "'Sex Trainer,' Escort 'Nastya Rybka' Released But Remains Suspect, Lawyer Says". Radio Free Europe. 22 January 2019. Retrieved 5 February 2020.
  7. Навальный, Алексей (Navalny, Alexei) (21 January 2019). "Дерипаска заказал тюрьму для Рыбки: доказательства" [Deripaska ordered a prison for Rybka: evidence]. Навальный (Navalny) (in Russian). Retrieved 5 February 2020.
  8. Utheim, Eric B. (6 August 2013). "På norgesferie med to jetfly og yacht med egen følgebåt: Se hvordan Russlands 16. rikeste mann ferierer på Nordmøre" [On a Norwegian holiday with two jets and a yacht with its own companion boat: See how Russia's 16th richest man is vacationing in North Morea]. E24 (in Norwegian). Retrieved 5 February 2020.
  9. Alnæs, Ole Knut (6 August 2013). "En av verdens rikeste ferierer på Nordmøre" [One of the world's richest vacations on Nordmøre]. Tidens Krav (in Norwegian). Kristiansund, Norway. Retrieved 5 February 2020.
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  14. Kirchgaessner, Stephanie; Harding, Luke (20 June 2018). "US lobbyist for Russian oligarch visited Julian Assange nine times last year: It is unclear whether Adam Waldman's 2017 visits had connection to Oleg Deripaska". The Guardian. Retrieved 5 February 2020.
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  19. Ioffe, Julia; Foer, Franklin (2 October 2017). "Did Manafort Use Trump to Curry Favor With a Putin Ally? Emails turned over to investigators detail the former campaign chair's efforts to please an oligarch tied to the Kremlin". The Atlantic. Retrieved 7 February 2020.
  20. Stedman, Scott (6 March 2018). "Deripaska's private jet: Newark-Moscow-Molde for secret yacht meeting. Konstantin Kilimnik, the Ukrainian political consultant who has ties to Russian intelligence, said the two discussed unpaid bills and current news". Medium. Archived from the original on 10 April 2018. Retrieved 7 February 2020.
  21. Burrows, Emma (1 March 2018). "Russian model in Thai jail promises to spill Trump-Russia secrets". CNN. Retrieved 7 February 2020.
  22. Навальный, Алексей (Navalny, Alexei) (8 February 2018). "Яхты, олигархи, девочки: охотница на мужчин разоблачает взяточника" [Yachts, oligarchs, girls: a hunter for men exposes a bribe taker]. Навальный (Navalny) (in Russian). Archived from the original on 8 February 2018. Retrieved 7 February 2018. Important items in the Navalny video have English subtitles.
  23. Paddock, Richard C. (5 March 2018). "Escort Says Audio Recordings Show Russian Meddling in U.S. Election". The New York Times. Retrieved 5 March 2018.
  24. "Sex, power, politics, and the Kremlin: Nastya Rybka case". Deutsche Welle. 26 January 2019. Retrieved 5 February 2020.
  25. "В консульстве сообщили о предстоящей депортации Лесли и Рыбки из Таиланда" [The consulate announced the upcoming deportation of Leslie and Rybka from Thailand]. RBC (in Russian). 26 February 2018. Retrieved 7 February 2020.
  26. Навальный, Алексей (Navalny, Alexei) (10 February 2018). "Наше расследование о коррупционных связях чиновника Приходько и олигарха Дерипаски объявлено «запрещенной информацией»" [Our investigation into corruption ties between official Prikhodko and oligarch Deripaska is declared “forbidden information”]. Навальный (Navalny) (in Russian). Retrieved 7 February 2020.
  27. "Thailand Detains Woman At Center Of Navalny's 'Rybkagate' Report". Radio Free Europe. 26 February 2018. Retrieved 7 February 2020.
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  29. "Появилось видео задержания участников секс-тренинга с Настей Рыбкой" [There was a video of the detention of sex training participants with Nastya Rybka]. RBC (in Russian). 26 February 2018. Retrieved 7 February 2020.
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  31. Watson, Ivan; Olarn, Kocha (13 March 2018). "FBI tried to contact 'sex coaches' in Thai jail". CNN. Retrieved 6 February 2020.
  32. MacFarquhar, Neil (30 April 2018). "'They Want to Block Our Future': Thousands Protest Russia's Internet Censorship". The New York Times. Retrieved 22 January 2019.
  33. "Russia internet ban blocks Telegram and millions of websites, including Google and Amazon IP addresses — Quartz". index.qz.com. Retrieved 22 January 2019.
  34. Paddock, Richard C. (31 August 2018). "She Gambled on Her Claim to Link Russians and Trump. She Is Losing". The New York Times. Retrieved 31 August 2018.
  35. Kaewjinda, Kaweewit (20 August 2018). "Belarusian Escort Says She Made a Deal With an Oligarch to Keep Quiet About Russian Meddling". Time. Associated Press. Retrieved 31 August 2018.
  36. Maza, Cristina (20 August 2018). "Belarusian Escort Says She Gave Evidence of Russian Election Interference to Manafort-Linked Oligarch". Newsweek. Retrieved 31 August 2018.
  37. Фёдоров, Владислав (Fedorov, Vladislav) (8 June 2018). "Дерипаска отсудил по полмиллиона рублей у Насти Рыбки и Алекса Лесли: Предприниматель ранее просил суд взыскать по одному миллиону рублей с каждого ответчика" [Deripaska seized half a million rubles from Nastya Rybka and Alex Leslie: The entrepreneur had previously requested the court to recover one million rubles from each defendant.] (in Russian). Life. Retrieved 6 February 2020.
  38. Stognei, Anastasia (19 January 2019). "Deportation, detention and up to 8 years prison: the latest on Nastya Rybka". The Bell. Retrieved 5 February 2020.
  39. "Russia Frees Model who Claimed Trump Secrets from Police Custody". The Moscow Times. 22 January 2019. Retrieved 22 January 2019.
  40. "Настя Рыбка станет депутатом и отомстит Дерипаске?: Как живут после громкого скандала и отсидки в тайской тюрьме экс-подруга олигарха и Алекс Лесли" [Nastya Rybka will become a deputy and take revenge on Deripaska? How the ex-girlfriend of the oligarch and Alex Leslie live after a scandal and a jail in a Thai prison]. скандалы.ру (in Russian). 14 November 2019. Retrieved 6 February 2020.
  41. "Настя Рыбка: школьная жизнь, бывшие мужья и брошенный сын" [Nastya Rybka: school life, ex-husbands and abandoned son]. Наш Гомель (Our Gomel) (in Russian). 14 February 2018. Retrieved 6 February 2020.
  42. "Ридус" (Reedus) (14 February 2018). "Одноклассница скандальной Насти Рыбки: Разврат начался на Гомельщине, когда она изменила мужу на сессии в Мозыре (видео): Известная своими провокационными роликами и заявлениями Настя Рыбка оказалась девушкой с высшим образованием и двумя браками за плечами" [Classmate of the scandalous Nastya Rybka: Debauchery began in the Gomel region when she cheated on her husband at a session in Mozyr (video): Known for her provocative videos and statements, Nastya Rybka turned out to be a girl with a higher education and two marriages behind her.]. ProGomel.by (in Russian). Retrieved 6 February 2020.
  43. "Порноскандал в оточенні Путіна. Хто така Настя Рибка і чому нервують у Кремлі" [Porn scandal surrounding Putin. Who is Nastya Rybka and why are they nervous in the Kremlin]. TSN (in Ukrainian). 18 February 2018. Retrieved 6 February 2020.
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