British and Russian tabloid media reported earlier this week that a Belarusian model was abducted, forced into a cyber scam operation, and murdered in Myanmar. But officials in Thailand and Belarus insist she travelled to Yangon voluntarily and that her death is unconfirmed.
Vera Kravtsova, 26, is the subject of widespread media stories alleging she was abducted in Thailand, trafficked into Myanmar, and then murdered at a cyber scam centre.
These accounts, which include claims of torture, ransom, organ harvesting, and cremation, have gained international attention.
But authorities in both Thailand and Belarus have refuted key parts of this story, stating that Kravtsova travelled from Bangkok to Yangon of her own free will and that reports of her death are unconfirmed.
“CCTV footage shows she was not under any coercion, and immigration records confirm she used the self-service ABC [automated border control] gate,” said Cherngron Rimphadee, a Thai Police Major-General and the spokesperson for the Immigration Bureau.
The embassy of Belarus in Myanmar has urged the public to ignore what it calls “irresponsible” rumours about Kravtsova’s murder.
It confirmed she flew from Bangkok to Yangon on Sept. 20 and that it is using official channels to find her. Kravtsova’s family last had contact with her on Oct. 4.
Tabloid reports from Russia allege that Kravtsova was lured to Thailand for a modelling job on Sept. 12 but was instead abducted one week later and forced to work at a cyber scam centre in Myanmar.
The reports also claim she was tortured and killed after failing to meet scamming targets, with her organs then harvested and sold before her body was cremated.
A ransom of $500,000 USD was demanded from her family before her captors admitted to killing her. Myanmar’s military regime, which has carried out several raids this week on cyber scam operations, have made no public statements on Kravtsova’s case.
