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Thai trial of model over ‘sex training course’ to start

This article is more than 12 months old

PATTAYA: A Belarusian model who claimed she had proof of Russian efforts to help US President Donald Trump win office appeared in court yesterday for the expected start of her trial over running a "sex training course" in Thailand.

Anastasia Vashukevich, known by her pen name Nastya Rybka, has been held in custody since a police raid in Pattaya in February last year.

Vashukevich looked sombre as she arrived at the court with her seven co-defendants, who are on trial for multiple charges including soliciting sex.

She had travelled to Thailand after becoming embroiled in a political scandal with Russian aluminium tycoon Oleg Deripaska, a one-time associate of Mr Trump's disgraced former campaign director Paul Manafort.

She set off a scramble for details after promising to reveal "missing puzzle pieces" on claims the Kremlin aided Mr Trump's 2016 election victory.

No material has been released to substantiate her claims, which critics have dismissed as a publicity stunt. Police alleged the seminar, led by self-styled Russian seduction guru Alex Kirillov, was breaching Thai decency laws.

Kirillov, who has served as a spokesman for the mostly Russian group, told reporters he believes they were set up.

The group have pleaded not guilty, saying they were training people on "how to seduce men and women" and not participating in sexual activity.

Vashukevich and Kirillov have expressed fear of being deported back to Russia. Both Washington and Moscow have shrugged off Vashukevich's story, which the US State Department described as "bizarre". Vashukevich, who has penned a book about seducing oligarchs, also faced legal problems in Russia. - AFP

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