A Belarusian woman jailed in Thailand for offering sex lessons without a work permit says she has a story to tell involving the Kremlin, Russian billionaires and even the president of the United States.
Anastasia Vashukevich told The Associated Press from a police van Wednesday that she fears for her life, and wants to exchange information on alleged Russian ties to Donald Trump's campaign for her own personal safety.
But she refused for now to offer any such evidence, and it was not clear if she has any.
Vashukevich's story offers a glimpse into the shady world of Russian oligarchs. Trump's one-time campaign manager, Paul Manafort, also had ties to that world through his consulting work for one of those oligarchs.
Manafort was indicted on money-laundering charges related to his overseas consulting work by special counsel Robert Mueller. But Mueller has offered no evidence that Manafort linked his Russian contacts to Trump's campaign or helped Russia meddle in the US election.
That has not stopped Vashukevich from claiming that she has such evidence as she faces possible deportation back to Russia.
Vashukevich says - so far without proof - that she can link the Kremlin to Trump and his former campaign manager, Paul Manafort, who indicted on money-laundering charges in special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 US election
But Mueller has offered no evidence so far in his investigation that Manafort helped Russia.
A request for comment Wednesday from the Russian government went unanswered.
Peter Carr, a spokesman for special counsel Robert Mueller, declined to comment.
On Sunday, Vashukevich was arrested along with nine other people, including Kirillov, in the Thai resort of Pattaya while giving sex lessons to Russian tourists.
