It was unclear Tuesday exactly when the unidentified businessman was detained or
whether he was still in custody. A man who answered the phone at the district
organized crime department confirmed that the case was on the books but
declined to provide any details.
According to Moskovsky Komsomolets, the story began about six months ago when
the businessman met the unidentified 33-year-old woman, a former model, at a
local soiree. The woman caught his fancy, and over the next few months he tried
in vain to court her.
The tale of unrequited love turned ugly, however, when the woman finally made
it clear that she wanted nothing to do with him, the newspaper said. He then
threatened to send a pornographic film of her to her parents if she did not pay
$10,000, but she ignored the threat, knowing that she had never undressed in
his presence, it said.
But with a large video studio at his disposal, the businessman went to work,
and the woman was horrified when she saw the final product. It was then that
she went to police, who set up the sting operation for the money handover.
After receiving the money, which the businessman had knocked down to $8,000, he
was arrested by police as he was starting his car and preparing to drive off.
It was unclear whether the businessman had been charged, and Natalya
Vorotnikova, spokeswoman for the Moscow region police, said she could not
immediately comment on the case.
Ilya Zhukov, a video studio owner who runs the web site Videoperator.ru, said
that doctoring actors in a pornographic movie and making the final product look
realistic was an extremely difficult task even by Hollywood standards, to say
nothing of Moscow region standards. "It would take a serious amount of time and
effort, even for an expert," Zhukov said. "Even then it could never look 100
percent authentic."
Zhukov said the film was probably made with a stand-in who vaguely resembled
the woman and was shot with poor lighting and at odd angles.
Amateur porn videos taped secretly and leaked to the media have a notable
history in Russian politics. In 1997, Justice Minister Valentin Kovalyov was
suspended at his own request after the publication of video pictures apparently
showing him cavorting with nude women in a sauna said to be popular with
organized crime figures. A video broadcast on state television in 1999 showed
what appeated to be then-Prosecutor General Yury Skuratov frolicking with two
prostitutes in a brothel.
