In February 2019, the Polish authorities arrested Yaroslav Alekseyev , the vice-president for corporate finance at Probusinessbank, in the Probusinessbank embezzlement case.

Alekseyev could be extradited, and that is when he applied for political asylum. At first, he claimed he was a Jehovah’s Witness, a denomination that had just been outlawed by the Russian government. However, during the trial, his defense strategy revolved around him being politically persecuted by the Russian regime over his dissenting views.

That claim was supported by the statement Ashurkov had signed while in the U.S. The court ruled against the extradition, the Polish prosecutors challenged the ruling, but then the court of appeals literally quoted Ashurkov’s statement:

“<...> the evidence presented in the criminal proceedings against Mr. Yaroslav Alekseyev raise considerable suspicions. The evidence suggests that the criminal charges may be politically motivated

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The Probusinessbank employees’ alleged cooperation with Alexei Navalny, one of Russia’s major opposition politicians, has a profound effect on the ongoing litigation, for there is reason to believe that the charges brought against Mr. Yaroslav Alekseyev may be part of a repression campaign seeking to terminate said cooperation.”

That is how the political persecution claims were officially mentioned by a European court, which further boosted the political persecution cover story.