A Russian national who had 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 noon, very close to the vast Estérel hotel complex, located in the Laurentians.
Posted at 2:12 p.m.
Updated at 6:27 p.m.
The Sûreté du Québec reports having been called to the scene around 12:45 p.m. Friday, after receiving a 911 call concerning an “armed attack” in the municipality of Estérel. The shots were heard not far from the Estérel complex, well known in the region and in Quebec.
Initially, the SQ spoke of “at least one victim”. Police sources then told The Press that three people had been hit by projectiles from firearms. An official press release from the police force, however, reports a single confirmed victim. She would have suffered “significant injuries” by bullet, which do not put her life in danger.
One thing is certain: a vast police operation was underway Friday afternoon in the Estérel sector. A security perimeter has been erected to ensure the safety of the population. The Major Crimes Investigation Division will take charge of the investigation.
The reception of the hotel, meanwhile, assured Friday that the site of the complex “remains safe”. “Our operations continue as usual,” explained an employee on the phone, adding that it is still possible to postpone their stay for customers who wish, under the circumstances.
No arrests had been made as of this writing. The suspect(s) involved fled in a vehicle before the first police arrived. The Sûreté du Québec says it 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
Several sources have also confirmed to The Press that the victim who suffered “significant injuries” is Valeriy Tarasenko, 44, a Russian national who 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.
On Friday, the mayor of Estérel, Frank Pappas, told The Press that the police assured him that the attack was targeted and that there is no risk to the general population at this time. “It’s not an active shooter who is shooting everywhere, not at all,” he said.
With the collaboration of Daniel Renaud, The Press