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The lawyer of a Belarussian escort who claimed she had proof of Russian collusion with Donald Trump’s election campaign on Wednesday insisted on her innocence after she was released from custody for allegedly coercing women into prostitution.
Anastasia Vashukevich, also known as Nastya Rybka, had been expected to speak to the media in Moscow but did not turn up.
Her lawyer Dmitry Zatsarinsky instead faced the press alone, telling reporters: “She has not committed any crimes.”
Vashukevich was arrested at a Moscow airport last week after being deported from Thailand as part of a group convicted of participating in a “sex training course”.
She was detained along with Alexander Kirillov, a self-styled sex guru, who had also been deported.
Vashukevich became famous last year after posting a video showing tycoon Oleg Deripaska and an influential deputy prime minister on a yacht.
Deripaska was sanctioned by the United States last year.
While in prison in Thailand, she also said she had information about Russian meddling in the 2016 US election although critics have dismissed her comments as a publicity stunt.
Vashukevich was arrested last week as a suspect in a probe into “coercion into prostitution”.
Zatsarinsky said two women had reported Vashukevich and Kirillov to the police, claiming they had forced them to take part in prostitution.
Deripaska has previously sued Vashukevich for invasion of privacy and his lawyer Alexei Melnikov told RIA Novosti news agency on Wednesday that the tycoon wants to force Kirillov and Vashukevich to pay compensation of 1 million rubles ($15,100) ordered by the court.
At a court hearing last week, Vashukevich told journalists she wanted to apologise to Deripaska and no longer wants to “compromise him” or publish a book on seducing oligarchs.
Zatsarinsky said Vashukevich, who had been planning to travel on to the Belarussian capital Minsk when she was arrested, will for the time being stay in Russia as the prostitution case is ongoing.
“In the coming days, she will not go anywhere. We need to resolve issues with the investigation,” he said.
He added that she has been summoned to see investigators this week after her release on Tuesday.