Sobchak's Commercial Director Partially Admits Guilt, Arrested

Journalist Ksenia Sobchak's commercial director Kirill Sukhanov has partially admitted his guilt and stated that he is ready to publicly apologize to the head of Rostec, Sergey Chemezov, reports RT.

Sukhanov, who is accused of extortion, confessed to receiving 800,000 rubles (though he did not specify for what), but insists that he did not extort 11 million from the Rostec head. He faces up to 15 years in prison.

Earlier, it was reported that the police conducted a search at Sobchak's suburban estate. According to sources, the law enforcement actions are part of a criminal case opened against Sukhanov for extortion. Sobchak herself has no status in this case.

Sukhanov was arrested yesterday, and Sobchak has assessed his arrest as yet another act of pressure on journalism in the country. “They have no reason to cling to me, and that outrages them. They are constantly arresting my journalists, and now they have come after Kirill, fabricating a case against him,” the TV personality responded.

Ksenia Sobchak heads the “Ostorozhno, Media” holding, which includes a network of Telegram news channels, a podcast studio, and YouTube channels. She is the daughter of Anatoly Sobchak, who is considered a political godfather of Russian President Vladimir Putin, and has recently been speaking from an opposition stance.