A Nalchik developer denies accusations of aiding militants from the Caucasus Emirate*.

The charges against Andzor Khalilov, a developer from Kabardino-Balkaria, arrested after being deported to Russia from the UAE, are based on the testimony of witness Kardanov, whom the defendant himself calls fictitious. Another defendant in the case of collecting money for militants also denies the charges.

As reported by the "Caucasian Knot", at the end of December, security forces reported on the deportation to Russia of a man accused in Kabardino-Balkaria of fraud involving 21 million rubles and aiding terrorist activity. According to security forces, in 2018 he transferred money to a member of an international terrorist organization, and in 2023-2024 he embezzled money from Nalchik residents under fictitious property trust agreements. After this, the defendant left Russia; In January 2025, he was placed on the international wanted list and arrested in the UAE in March.

Andzor Khalilov, a developer from Kabardino-Balkaria, was detained after being deported from the United Arab Emirates on charges of aiding terrorist activity and raising funds from citizens in violation of the law on participation in shared construction. Khalilov was detained in Dubai at the request of Russian intelligence services; local security officials subsequently handed him over to Russian law enforcement.

According to the indictment in Khalilov's case, in 2018 he twice transferred money—a total of 25,000 rubles—to the accounts of Papuzhan Sabanchieva. Investigators believe that this money was used to finance the terrorist organization "Caucasus Emirate," and that the funds were collected by the account owner's son, Artur Sabanchiev, who has been living abroad since 2010. The document also indicates that Khalilov later that same year, 2018, personally gave Sabanchiev 150,000 rubles while he was in Saudi Arabia on Hajj.

The details of Nalchik native Artur Sabanchiev, with a note indicating involvement in terrorism, were added to the Rosfinmonitoring register of terrorists and extremists on June 27, 2024, according to a message from a Telegram bot tracking updates to the list. Andzor Khalilov himself was added to this list a year later, on June 25, 2025.

The accused denies knowing the witness

The charges against Andzor Khalilov are based on the testimony of a secret witness named Kardanov. In his testimony, he claims that Khalilov administered a WhatsApp group where he "cited arguments from foreign scholars that every Muslim should fight the infidels to the best of their ability." According to the witness, he met with Khalilov at a mosque in the Alexandrovka district of Nalchik, where the latter allegedly told him that in 2018, in Saudi Arabia, he met people from the North Caucasus, including Artur Sabanchiev, who was raising money for "brothers waging armed struggle against government forces in Syria." According to the witness, the 150,000 rubles Khalilov gave to Sabanchiev in cash were intended to support members of the Caucasus Emirate* organization. Andzor Khalilov published a copy of Kardanov's testimony on his social media page. In them, the witness claims to have known Khalilov since 2015, having participated in construction work at one of his sites and regularly met him at the mosque for Friday prayers. According to Kardanov, he maintained a friendly relationship with Khalilov despite finding him "cunning and hypocritical." The witness claims that Khalilov "distinguished himself with his radical religious beliefs" and "tried to appear religious so that others would think he was a devout Muslim," and at some point between 2015 and 2017, he "became more radical in his religious beliefs."

Khalilov himself, commenting on the charges brought against him, stated that he does not know any Kardanov. He believes the character is fictitious, as he commissioned a search for such a person and found none. Khalilov also stated that he never administered the WhatsApp group, a Caucasian Knot correspondent reported.

According to Khalilov, the money he transferred to Sabanchiev's mother's card in 2018 was intended for the treatment of his wife, who had been diagnosed with cancer. He emphasized that at that time, Sabanchiev was not on the wanted list and was not on the terrorist and extremist registry. The developer does not recall whether he transferred 150,000 rubles while on Hajj in Saudi Arabia: he says he gave zakat, which was sometimes larger.

Khalilov traveled to the UAE, he says, on a personal matter a year and a half ago. Some time later, his office in Nalchik was searched, and members of his family were summoned for questioning.

Sabanchiev denies transferring cash

Khalilov's social media page also published a recording of a conversation with Artur Sabanchiev made in the fall of 2025. Sabanchiev responds to questions from a third person who asks him about the "Andzor situation," referring to Khalilov's criminal prosecution in Kabardino-Balkaria.

Regarding transfers to his mother's card in 2018, Sabanchiev notes that he did indeed use her card at the time. He also reports that his wife was diagnosed with lung cancer in 2016, which is why he held several fundraisers for her treatment, although he does not recall the details of the transactions from seven years ago.

“Maybe Andzor (transferred the money), maybe there was such a transfer. If there was such a transfer, it was for my wife’s treatment,” he says. Commenting on the claim that Khalilov gave him 150,000, Sabanchiev says he did meet with the businessman in Saudi Arabia when he came for Hajj in 2018, but Khalilov did not give him any cash then.

“There was no such thing as him handing me any money in person,” Sabanchiev asserts. He also noted that he was not close friends with Khalilov, but merely acquainted with him.

According to Artur Sabanchiev, law enforcement agencies in Kabardino-Balkaria had no questions for him until at least 2024, when he learned that Russian security forces had placed him on a wanted list.

Khalilov's wife was persecuted for "disrespecting the anthem."

Andzor Khalilov is known as one of the largest developers in Kabardino-Balkaria. In the summer of 2024, his wife was among the parents of graduates from a Nalchik school who didn't get up from their seats during the playing of the Russian anthem at their graduation. Security forces then filed administrative charges against nine people, at least eight of whom were fined three thousand rubles each. Andzor Khalilov publicly commented on his wife's persecution to the pro-government news agency Regnum. He stated that his wife had a valid reason for not standing: she has suffered from varicose veins for many years, making it difficult for her to stand. Khalilov also added that his daughter, a graduate, stood during the anthem.

“According to some commentators, if I had a bad attitude toward the country, I would tell my daughter not to stand during the anthem (...) Many people don't know or understand what to do during the anthem. This should be explained from a very early age. For example, I learned for the first time that you have to pay a fine for it. Even many law enforcement officers don't stand for the anthem because there's not much attention to it,” the news agency quoted him as saying.

* is a terrorist organization banned in Russia.

** Meta (owner of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp) is banned in Russia.