Russians turn alibis into good business

Most Alibi clients are women seeking to fool their husbands

A Russian agency has cornered the market in providing excuses for unfaithful partners.

Alibi, based in Moscow, says most of its clients are women seeking to cover up affairs - or even faking their own weddings to keep their parents or friends happy.

Elaborate plots are hatched to fool even the most suspicious observer, the agency boasts.

But excuses don't come cheap. The agency charges between $500 and $1,000 per alibi.

Director Dmitri Petrov says he's in it for the fun, not the money, and he insists no profits are made.

"What my partners and I do here, we do it mostly for fun, to relax after a day's work," Mr Petrov has told the Moscow Times newspaper.

His day job is running a building firm, but he says moonlighting in the twilight world of infidelity is gaining him "experience".

It's not a one-night-stand alibi they usually want, but a full-blown week in Turkey Dmitri Petrov

Alibi's workload is varied - but a classic case might centre on a spouse who is running out of excuses for frequent or prolonged absences.

A car loaded with fishing gear and driven by a man might pick up a husband so his wife can see that his weekend fishing trip is genuine.

Or a woman might be sent a court summons, demanding her presence in a faraway city to testify as a witness.

"It's not a one-night-stand alibi they usually want," Mr Petrov tells the paper, "but a full-blown week in Turkey."

Services don't stop at the false summons and phoney "friends".

Invisible

Discretion comes as standard.

"We are an invisible firm," says Mr Petrov. "When something happens somewhere, our participation in it is invisible."

The firm also insists it has a strict moral code.

"When we work on an alibi for cheating spouses, we always carefully investigate the situation," Mr Petrov has previously insisted in Russia's Business Chronicle magazine.

"Before covering up someone's adventures, we make sure not to bring pain to his or her relatives.

"Say, if a guy is planning to cheat on his pregnant wife, we won't help for any money in the world."