The man at the centre of Ghana’s most explosive privacy scandal in recent memory has a name, a passport number, and a date of birth. What the government does not yet have is the man himself, and that is precisely what Wednesday’s announcement was designed to change.
Communications Minister Sam Nartey George published the suspect’s passport on social media on Wednesday, February 18, formally confirming his identity as Vladislav Aleksandrovich Liulkov, a 36-year-old Russian national, bringing to an end days of speculation that had been fuelled partly by the Russian Embassy’s earlier statement that the name circulating in media reports did not correspond to a known Russian name.
The passport, bearing number 77 7784005 and issued by Russian authorities on December 9, 2025, lists his date of birth as September 19, 1989, and identifies his place of birth as the Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic. The document, George told journalists at a joint press conference with the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection, settles the question of who the suspect is and where he is from.
Liulkov had been operating online under the alias “Yaytseslav” and was previously misidentified in some reports as Vyacheslav Trahov, a name that has since been confirmed as a pseudonym. Russian media have since published his background, describing him as a self-styled “professional seducer” from the city of Ulyanovsk who had been producing similar content involving women in Russia before travelling to Ghana.
George was careful to correct a misperception that had hardened in public discourse since the scandal broke on February 12. He stressed that not every woman whose image appeared in Liulkov’s content was involved in an intimate encounter with him, noting that cybersecurity investigations show that in several cases the suspect merely met women briefly in public spaces and recorded those interactions without their knowledge or consent. Reports indicate Liulkov frequently operated near the Accra Mall, where he would approach women, strike up conversations, and record the exchanges using Meta smart glasses before later uploading the footage to his social media platforms and a paid Telegram subscription channel.
The government confirmed it is now actively pursuing an international arrest warrant through the International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL), with Ghana’s Criminal Investigation Department (CID) leading that process. The case has been brought under Section 67 of the Cybersecurity Act, 2020 (Act 1038), which criminalises the non-consensual recording and distribution of intimate images and carries penalties including custodial sentences.
The confirmation of Liulkov’s nationality represents a pivotal shift in the diplomatic dimension of the case. Foreign Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa had summoned Russian Ambassador Sergei Berdnikov on February 17 to register the government’s formal displeasure. The Ambassador acknowledged the brief and confirmed the information would be transmitted to Moscow, while noting that while no extradition treaty exists between Ghana and Russia, the alleged conduct would also be considered criminal under Russian law.
The case has taken on a public health dimension as well, with reports that one woman who appeared in Liulkov’s content and subsequently tested positive for HIV was later found dead in her apartment in Nairobi. George said the government will continue to update the public as the investigation progresses and urged any woman who believes she may have had contact with Liulkov to come forward to authorities.
