It is more than just Vice employees who allege Pastukhov solicited them. Matthews was a hip-hop fan and fledgling writer when he met Pastukhov in 2012, before Pastukhov joined Vice. (Jeffery Weiss, founder and editor of PoW, confirmed Matthews was an editor and Pastukhov a writer for his site at that time.) Like others who spoke to the Post, Matthews says he assumed Pastukhov was offering a freelance journalism assignment on behalf of Vice. The timing of Pastukhov’s alleged offer to Matthews suggests he was being recruited for that same trip, or one like it.

Source: National Post February 10, 2017 22:13 UTC