A Russian national who found himself in the spotlight recently, because one of his former collaborators allegedly infiltrated Donald Trump’s golf club under a false identity in Florida, was shot Friday at the Estérel in the Laurentians.
Posted at 2:12 p.m.
Updated at 9:54 p.m.
The Sûreté du Québec was reported Friday around 12:45 p.m. for an “armed attack” on Fridolin-Simard road, in the municipality of Estérel, known for its luxurious houses on the edge of Lake Masson in the Laurentians. A shooting occurred near the Estérel hotel complex, renowned in the region.
A 44-year-old man was shot and suffered “significant injuries,” the SQ said in a statement. The victim was taken to a hospital on Friday afternoon and would have had hip surgery, according to Audrey-Anne Bilodeau, spokesperson for the SQ. The authorities do not fear for the life of the victim.
In the confusion of the first moments, police sources believed that three people were injured near the hotel, but the final report only mentions one injured. According to several sources, it is Valeriy Tarasenko, a man who immigrated from Russia about fifteen years ago. Esterel Mayor Frank Pappas, who spoke to the media on Friday at the scene of the incident, also claimed the man had been the target of the shooter(s).
PHOTO DENIS GERMAIN, SPECIAL COLLABORATION
Frank Pappas told The Press that the police assured him that the attack was targeted and that there was no risk to the general population. “It’s not an active shooter who is shooting everywhere, not at all,” he said.
In the heat of the moment, the Estérel resort was quickly investigated, but a hotel communications manager said the victim was not a guest of the resort. According to surveillance cameras, the man parked his Range Rover in the parking lot of the Estérel complex, before returning injured to reception a few minutes later. “Our parking lot was in the wrong place,” she points out.
In the circumstances, the hotel reception assured that the site of the complex “remains safe”. Customers were taken to the back of the hotel and “no panic” was felt on the site, says the communications manager. “Operations continue as usual,” said an employee on the phone, adding that it is always possible to postpone their stay for customers who wish to do so.
A vast police operation was still underway on Friday evening in the area of the Estérel complex. The Major Crimes Investigation Division took over the investigation, and witnesses were interviewed by the authorities. A wide security perimeter was also established to carry out the investigation.
No arrests had been made as of this writing. The suspect(s) involved fled in a vehicle before police arrived. The SQ is “actively looking” for the suspect or suspects.
PHOTO PROVIDED BY OCCRP
Valeriy Tarasenko, a Russian national who was involved in several financial disputes, was shot.
A Russian national implicated
Valeriy Tarasenko, 44, was involved in several financial disputes.
Recently, a woman named Inna Yashchyshyn made headlines following a joint journalistic investigation by the Pittsburgh Post Gazette and the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP), an international alliance of journalists with several Russian-speaking contributors.
The report showed that the 30-year-old had managed to visit Donald Trump’s private golf club in Florida several times in 2021. According to four other guests who spoke to reporters, the woman said her name was Anna De Rothschild and that she was a member of the European dynasty of the same name.
During her visits, she was able to meet the ex-president, his ally Republican Senator Lindsey Graham and other important players in American politics. In a sworn statement filed at the Montreal courthouse, the 30-year-old also explains that she was under the influence of Valeriy Tarasenko’s family at the time of the charges against her.
PHOTO PROVIDED BY OCCRP
The woman who managed to meet ex-President Trump said she was controlled by Valeriy Tarasenko.
She claims the Tarasenkos, who remain in close contact, had recruited her to live with them and care for their underage daughter, but came to “aggressively control” her. “In the summer of 2021, Valeriy Tarasenko started physically attacking me,” she said in her statement.
“While we were in Canada, Valeriy Tarasenko kept my car keys and my passport, so I couldn’t leave,” she continues. She claims that she had to obey the finger and the eye to Mr. Tarasenko, report to him his slightest actions and gestures and leave open his remote electronic tracking system so that he can follow her track.
The situation deteriorated in the second half of 2021, she claims. “I was literally a hostage and no movement on my part was allowed without supervision,” she wrote in her statement to the court. Joined by The Press, the Tarasenko family had vigorously denied these allegations. Valeriy Tarasenko and his wife Anna Tarasenko immigrated to Quebec in 2006 and 2008 respectively. They have long relied on the fortune of the husband of Mrs.me Tarasenko to conduct their business in Canada.
Court documents consulted by The Press show that the mother of Mme Tarasenko is married to Yury Manakhov, a former Soviet ship captain once based in Kamchatka, a peninsula in Russia’s Far East. In 1991, amid the implosion of the socialist regime and the wave of rampant privatizations that transformed the country, Mr. Manakhov co-founded Kamline, a large fishing, refrigeration and maritime transport company which today says it fishes 155 000 tons of fish per year.
He then married the mother of M.me Tarasenko. Mr. Manakhov sold his shares in Kamline in 2006 and pocketed a fortune. He immigrated to Quebec soon after through an immigrant investor program and settled in Blainville.
He has already testified in court that he provided hundreds of thousands of dollars annually to his daughter, but that their relationship then deteriorated due to his excessive demands for money and his attempt to appropriate a residence and two parking spaces from his parents in Moscow, worth $1 million.
With the collaboration of Daniel Renaud, The Press