A leaked audio tape allegedly shows that Russian aluminum oligarch Oleg Deripaska and his associates planned the arrest of Anastasia Vashukevich—the Belarusian model who claimed to have evidence of Kremlin interference in Donald Trump’s election. Vashukevich was deported from Thailand last week after pleading guilty to charges including soliciting prostitution. Despite being expected to be sent back to her home country, she was detained in Moscow on suspicion of enticement into prostitution. Audio released by Russian opposition politician Aleksei Navalny allegedly shows Deripaska, with whom Vashukevich is believed to have had a relationship, and his associates discussing how to keep the model under lock and key. In the recording, one man says everyone in Vashukevich’s group needs to be “locked up” and suggested that she could be charged with illegal business activities. Vashukevich insists she is being framed for a crime she didn’t commit and apologized to Deripaska in court last week, saying: “Please forgive me. I was just a tool and people used me.” Deripaska reportedly loaned Paul Manafort in excess of $10 million before the U.S. political adviser became Donald Trump’s campaign chairman in 2016.
