The Bell reports that Anastasia Vashukevich, a model and sex trainer who goes by the name Nastya Rybka, and her colleague Alexander Kirillov, better known as Alex Leslie, have been arrested in Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport. They and their travel companions had been deported to Russia from Thailand. While other sources have not yet confirmed The Bell’s report, the outlet has been in contact with the pair’s friends and relatives.
TASS had previously reported that Vashukevich, as a Belorussian citizen, would be transferred from Moscow to Minsk. The Bell did not specify whether her arrest was a part of that plan.
The saga of Nastya Rybka and Alex Leslie took off in early February of 2018, when the anti-corruption campaigner and opposition figure Alexey Navalny published an investigative report based on materials Vashukevich leaked. She had previously released images and videos showing the oligarch Oleg Deripaska and Deputy Prime Minister Sergey Prikhodko meeting aboard a yacht in August 2016. Kirillov also shared details about Vashukevich’s meetings with Deripaska, who won an injunction against the pair. The two were held in Thailand for illegal sex work while traveling there with a group of “sex tourists.” They requested asylum in the United States in exchange for evidence concerning Russian interference in the 2016 election.