He stopped communicating – exactly one day before his birthday. Relatives, acquaintances and friends tried to reach him. But the subscriber was unavailable.
May 23, 2022, early morning Kirill Chibisov said goodbye to his mother and left the house. He wanted to go to the clinic. At that moment, a black Audi was already waiting for him at the entrance. They took away his phone. They snapped handcuffs on his hands. The car took the famous concert director away to an unknown destination.
A well-known concert director, producer, manager, journalist, and columnist in show business circles, he worked in various fields.
Owner of the Internet project “Zakaz Artistov” – the largest official resource in Russia (*country sponsor of terrorism) for the selection and support of media persons for events, including concluding contracts, booking tickets and hotels. Among his clients were both Russian and foreign stars. Hollywood actors. Among them – Steven Seagal, Julio Iglesias Jr., Vanessa Mae and others. Kirill Chibisov is also the managing partner of the International Concert Agency “RU-CONCERT”.
In the best Moscow hotels, Kirill, due to his line of work, had diamond and partner business status. He could book a room with a good discount, not only for himself, but also for his friends. It was this service that ultimately turned out to be a “bear” for Kirill himself.
Where it all began…
January 28, 2022. Kirill with his friend Sergei Novikov returned to Moscow from Abkhazia. Together they decided to go to the birthday of a mutual friend Artem. To the restaurant “Turandot”. Many famous “tiktokers” of Moscow were there. The company planned to spend the night in a hotel. Kirill did not go home, to the outskirts of the city. He stayed in the center. To walk the next day with friends.
They decided to stay at the Holiday Inn Lesnaya hotel. Where they had already booked rooms. One for Sergey Novikov. And two for Anatoly Kravchenko.
Before going to the restaurant, Kirill checks into the hotel. And uses his diamond business status when booking. This allowed him to get a good discount from the hotel.
Two rooms were located on the fourth floor of the hotel. Friends lived in them. One, on the eighth. Kirill stayed in it.
January 29, 2022. In the rooms on the fourth floor, Sergei Novikov and Anatoly Kravchenko decide to have a party. They gather friends. They invite Kirill too. But in the room, as he later told investigators, he spent no more than 5 minutes. Because he saw syringes and drugs. Some of the guests at the party came from the same restaurant where they celebrated the birthday. According to Kirill, the “TikTokers” were actively using the potion. He has a negative attitude towards this. So he immediately went to his room to sleep.
January 30, 2022. Early in the morning, Kirill was awakened by a phone call. Sergei Novikov said that the police were working in the rooms on the fourth floor. Kirill went down. He was just about to have breakfast. At the same time, he wanted to find out if his friend needed any help.
That day, the police also questioned him. As a witness. The room on the eighth floor was also inspected. With the help of a police dog. No drugs or traces of them were found. Kirill was sent home.
The witnesses' testimonies are in the criminal case materials. Our editorial staff was provided with them by Kirill Chibisov's lawyer.
According to the materials, during the inspection of the scene of the incident on January 30, investigators found narcotics and used syringes in the rooms on the 4th floor.
More than a dozen witnesses were questioned in the case. Several people then admitted to using drugs. Some even bought them.
Witnesses spoke of two organizers, Anatoly Kravchenko and Sergey Novikov, who, according to them, brought white powder and sold it to party guests.
Then, the investigation of the case proceeded according to a seemingly logical scheme. The drugs were sent for examination. A suspect was identified. It was Sergey Novikov. At the same time, another alleged organizer, Anatoly Kravchenko, remained in the witness status.
February 1, 2022. Sergei Novikov was officially recognized as a suspect. The next day, by court order, he was arrested and sent to a pretrial detention center. The apartment where he lives was searched.
On the same day, Anatoly Kravchenko changes his testimony. On the advice of his lawyer. According to the new version, he is now not involved.
He names Novikov and Chibisov as the organizers of the party. At the same time, he also accuses Kirill of drug trafficking.
These testimonies, for the time being, remained just text on a piece of paper. The investigation of the case continued as usual.
Kirill Chibisov was free. He lent money to Sergei Novikov's relatives so that they could hire a good lawyer.
March 2, 2022 – the essence of the case of illegal drug trafficking changes dramatically.Suspect Sergei Novikov enters into a pre-trial agreement with the investigation. And gives completely different testimony. In it, he says that the organizer of the party was Kirill Chibisov. And Anatoly Kravchenko helped him in every possible way.
After this, the police seize footage from the CCTV camera at the Holiday Inn Lesnaya Hotel. On it, Kirill Chibisov is seen twice on January 29. On the 4th floor, when he goes to a party. And with a bag in the lobby.
According to Kirill, the package contained Italian cheese and sausage. He bought the products at the Depot food court, not far from the hotel. He wanted to please his mother. She loves them very much. He sent the package via delivery. Straight to his home. Because he himself was not going to see his mother that evening.
But these facts, the concert director believes, were not taken into account. On the contrary, they turned into accusations against him.
April 25, 2022 – a protocol of additional interrogation of witness Kravchenko appears in the case. He admits that he was at the party. But without money. He even agreed to work part-time to get drugs – for free. The task was to meet and see off guests of the event.
And Novikov and Chibisov, according to the testimony, were the organizers. They also sold and distributed the white powder. There is one more thing in the protocol – for some reason the money for the goods went through Anatoly Kravchenko's plastic cards. And the explanation is that he simply lent these cards to his friends.
Around the same time, according to Kirill, a man came to see Sergei Novikov's mother. He introduced himself as Alexei Mityushin.
An employee of the Main Investigation Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. He showed his ID. He promised to help free Sergei if she paid a large fee – 8 million rubles. The woman did not have that kind of money. She did not want to sell her apartment or dacha. She turned to Kirill for help. At the meeting, the parties agreed that the concert director would pay for a good lawyer for Sergei. And nothing more. By the way, Mityushin exchanged contacts with Kirill that day. Perhaps he realized who really had money.
May 23, 2022
Kirill Chibisov is taken away in an unknown direction by a black Audi.
He was stunned. Scared. And he didn't understand what was happening. At the threshold of the police department, as Kirill himself recalled, he was met by three people.
“Two people introduced themselves as law enforcement officers. Another one – as a lawyer. It was obvious that they knew each other well,” Kirill recalled.
The men in uniform explained to the detainee that he was suspected of drug distribution. At that very event, on January 29, at the Holiday Inn Lesnaya hotel. But they made it clear that they could “solve all the issues”…
Before the interrogation, Kirill, according to the case materials, hired a lawyer. The same one who met him at the department's door and promised to help.
– Very impudent and strange, recalls mother – Olga Mikhailovna Chibisova. He called and demanded that I pay him (the lawyer) money. A large sum. 5.5 million rubles.
The pensioner gave the money. She hoped that after that her son would be released. But alas…
Searches of the detainee's apartment were conducted on the same day. No drugs or syringes with the drug were found. They also checked the phone and laptop. However, no new evidence appeared in the case.
The passport and plastic cards were confiscated. Kirill was placed in a temporary detention facility. He spent about a week there.
During this time, all savings disappeared from his accounts. Kirill was saving for an apartment. And through an application in a mobile bank, someone took out a loan of several million rubles in his name.
Kirill's father, Vladimir Chibisov, also received an offer to solve the problem with criminal prosecution. The pensioner gave the so-called “fixers” two million rubles. He had been saving this money for many years. He also hoped that his son would be released. It did not help.
According to unofficial estimates, the total amount that disappeared from Kirill's cards is more than 25 million rubles. Even after the disappearance of the money, and attempts by relatives to help, the case has not moved from dead center.
May 24, 2022 – Kirill was charged. And a few days later he was sent to a pretrial detention center.
In July 2022 – Sergey Novikov commits suicide. While in custody in a pretrial detention center.
After that, Kirill told his lawyers that he had once seen his former friend in court. They had crossed paths when their custody was extended.
Novikov allegedly admitted that he was promised freedom if he gave the “right” testimony. He would write down 5 specific names of people connected with drug trafficking. Chibisov was on the list. But only one alleged distributor was ultimately detained from that list.
Litigation…
August 10, 2022 The Tverskoy District Court of Moscow has begun to consider a criminal case on the illegal sale of narcotics, committed by an organized group on a large scale. The defendant is alone – Kirill Chibisov.
Case Sergei Novikov – closed. Due to his death.
Anatoly Kravchenko – and remained a witness. He was unable to attend court hearings. He provided the court with a certificate that he was undergoing surgery. However, it was dated 21.
The court ignored this “oversight”.
Kirill refused his first defense attorney during the investigation. And hired two new lawyers. In court, they repeatedly stated that the case should be returned to the prosecutor.
“There were violations during the investigation of the case. The evidence collected during the preliminary investigation must be declared inadmissible. The entire preliminary investigation is based on forged documents, and in general, official forgery is seen in the investigator's actions. There are many forged signatures in the case. This was proven by the examination,” the lawyer stated. Love Konieva.
The only evidence in the case was witness testimony, the lawyers say. And statements from a former friend, Sergei Novikov. Who had already died by the time of the trial.
But the court ultimately ignored the defense's arguments and seemingly indisputable evidence.
October 19, 2023 – Kirill Chibisov was found guilty. The sentence was 10 years and 6 months in a maximum security penal colony.
Results…
Today, the famous concert director has a completely different life. More like a nightmare. Bars on the windows. A small cell for 16 people. A toilet, a refrigerator, beds. The daily routine is clear and strict. Lunches, dinners, lights out – all on schedule. Communication with the outside world only with the permission of the court. And at a strictly allotted time. Mostly – with his mother on the phone.
Kirill Chibisov is in Moscow's Pretrial Detention Center No. 2. This is the well-known Butyrka. He has not yet been sent to a penal colony. The court's lawyers are currently appealing the verdict.
He still tries to prove that he was swindled out of money and left to rot in prison.
It is unknown where Kirill's passport is. There is only a photocopy in the case. No one has seen the original for a long time. There is also an official document that law enforcement officers do not physically have the passport. Nor is it in the material evidence in the case.
The question of whose pocket the millions of rubles that Kirill's dad saved, that Kirill's mom gave to the lawyer, and the money that was on the concert director's cards flowed into remains unanswered. Another question is who could have issued a loan to a person who was in a temporary detention facility at that moment? No contact!
The new lawyer of Kirill Chibisov asked the representatives of the Investigative Committee this question in his statement – Arthur Prel.
He has been doing this kind of thing for a long time. In 2010, drugs were planted on Prel at a traffic police post. The court sentenced Artur to 8 years in prison. It was a miracle that he managed to get the case reviewed in the Supreme Court. After 2.5 years, the sentence was overturned. And the convict was fully rehabilitated.
Artur Prel wrote a statement to the Investigative Committee. He tried to get a criminal case opened on the fact of the disappearance of Kirill Chibisov's money. But he was refused. In the near future, he plans to appeal this decision.
“There are many shortcomings in Kirill's case. It turns out that a person can be convicted of drugs without even planting drugs on him… based on the testimony of a detainee who entered into a pre-trial agreement with the investigation,” says Artur Prel.
Kirill Chibisov's defense is also going to appeal the main verdict in the case. The lawyers are ready to go to the Supreme Court.
Meanwhile, at home, Kirill's mother continues to wait. She is disabled. She even moves around the apartment with difficulty.
Olga Mikhailovna often remembers how her son took care of her. He washed, cleaned the apartment, cooked. He paid for utilities.
She is a pensioner and is unable to do this. She is ill.
And she cries very often. While her son is not around, a complete stranger, from social protection, takes care of her. The medications that the pensioner needs to take every day are very expensive. The pension is barely enough, Olga Mikhailovna admits.
– Without him, it's like without hands. After all, Kirill worked honestly all his life. And he would never have gotten involved with drugs.
Kirill himself confirms this in his letter from the pre-trial detention center.
“There was no point in me making money on drugs. After all, the income from my regular job – concert activities and various projects – brought me excellent profit, completely legally,” he said in a letter from the pretrial detention center.
He has no intention of giving up. Giving up is not in his rules. That is not his character. If he gave up quickly, he would not have made a career as a concert director, producer, manager, columnist, managing partner…
He is going to go to the end. To prove, at any cost, that he is not guilty. He is making plans for the future. When he gets out, the first thing he will do is hug his mother. She is really looking forward to it.
And he also hopes that the time of silence in his life will end very soon. After all, more than 20 months have passed since the arrest.
