A Belarusian model and self-styled sex instructor who claimed to have evidence of Russian interference in the 2016 United States presidential election has been released from custody.

Key points: Anastasia Vashukevich was deported from Thailand after pleading guilty to solicitation

Anastasia Vashukevich was deported from Thailand after pleading guilty to solicitation Russian authorities have said they suspect the 28-year-old of forcing women into prostitution

Russian authorities have said they suspect the 28-year-old of forcing women into prostitution Ms Vashukevich has refused to comment on claims she made about Russian election interference

Anastasia Vashukevich, who also goes by the name Nastya Rybka, was arrested last February in connection with a sex training seminar in Thailand.

The 28-year-old was part of a group led by author and self-described sex guru Alexander Kirillov.

She was deported from Thailand last week after pleading guilty to charges of solicitation and conspiracy, and was detained alongside three others when her flight arrived in Moscow, before being charged with inducement to prostitution.

On Tuesday (local time), her lawyer Svetlana Sidorkina said his client and her associate had since been released from custody, but that the charges still stand.

Russian authorities have said they suspect Ms Vashukevich of forcing women into prostitution — a charge that carries a jail sentence of up to three years.

Ms Vashukevich garnered international headlines last year when she claimed she had audio tapes of Russian tycoon Oleg Deripaska, who is close to President Vladimir Putin, talking about interference in the United States election.

Mr Deripaska is among the Russian tycoons and officials who have been sanctioned in recent years by the United States in connection with Russia's 2014 annexation of Crimea.

In a Moscow court last week, shortly after her deportation from Thailand, Ms Vashukevich refused to elaborate on the claims.

She told the court that she had apologised to Mr Deripaska and said "I will no longer compromise him".

AP/Reuters