Moscow - A model whose alleged affair with a Russian oligarch made her an unexpected player in probes over Moscow's influence pleaded guilty Tuesday in Thailand to charges linked to a "sex training" seminar, setting the stage for her deportation.
The model and self-described sex expert from Belarus, Anastasia Vashukevich, had claimed she had recorded meetings between Russian metals magnate Oleg Deripaska and unspecified Americans in 2016 to discuss Russian interference in the U.S. election.
Vashukevich posted video of Deripaska meeting with a senior Russian official on a yacht, but Deripaska has denied having an affair with her, and no evidence of her possessing any new details about the election ever emerged.
On Tuesday, Vashukevich and seven Russians pleaded guilty to conspiracy and soliciting prostitution, clearing the way for them to be released after nine months in a Thai jail.
Vashukevich's claims about recording Deripaska were notable because the oligarch has ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin and used to work with President Donald Trump's former campaign chairman, Paul Manafort.
Manafort has pleaded guilty in the United States to crimes stemming from his work as a political consultant in Ukraine before joining Trump's campaign.
Soon after Vashukevich's apparent connection to Deripaska came to light early last year, she and several Russians were arrested while conducting a sex seminar for Russian tourists in the Thai resort town of Pattaya.
In jail, she first pleaded for US help, saying she had information on ties between Russia and Trump. But none of the alleged recordings were ever made public.
A lawyer for one of the seven people arrested alongside Vashukevich said that all eight of them pleaded guilty, prompting the Thai court to order a suspension of their sentence and to issue a warrant for their release.
Anastasia Vashukevich alias Nastya Rybka listens to a Thai police officer outside a detention centre in Pattaya, south of Bangkok. Picture: Gemunu Amarasinghe/AP
Their prison terms were waived in view of time served. They were then returned to a prison in Pattaya, a beach city south of Bangkok, where their shackles were removed, said the lawyer, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss an ongoing legal matter.
Vashukevich, who also went by the name Nastya Rybka, and the others are now set to be deported out of Thailand, a process that Thai officials say will take about five days.
It wasn't immediately clear where Vashukevich, a citizen of Belarus, would be sent. A friend, Gregory Kogan, said Vashukevich was hoping to be deported somewhere other than Russia.
"They feel quite lucky," Kogan said. "But the real relaxation will come when they are free."