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Russian chef arrested in Paris, reveals plan to destabilize Olympics opening ceremony

2024-07-24 16:03:32Kosova&Bota SHKRUAR NGA REDAKSIA VOX
Russian chef arrested in Paris, reveals plan to destabilize Olympics opening
Lojërat Olimpike Paris 2024

A Russian chef who has lived in France for 14 years has been arrested on suspicion of conspiring with a foreign power to stage large-scale acts of "destabilization" during the Paris Olympics.

The 40-year-old was arrested during a raid on his residence in central Paris on Sunday, where a document related to an elite unit of Russian special forces operating under the command of the FSB was reportedly found.

A judicial inquiry has been opened into allegations of sharing "intelligence with a foreign power with the intention of provoking hostilities in France" - a crime punishable by 30 years imprisonment. The alleged plot is not believed to have been terrorism-related.

The person whose name is not disclosed has already been filed and is in custody.

The ambitious opening ceremony of the 2024 Paris Olympics will be hosted on the banks of the River Seina on Friday night and there has long been concern that Russia may seek to interfere in the event.

Prosecutors in Paris said the search of the Russian national's residence was carried out at the request of the French Interior Ministry.

According to reports provided to French media, agents found evidence suggesting the man was preparing a "large-scale project" that could have had "serious" consequences over the three weeks of games.

French newspaper Le Monde reported that intelligence services had intercepted a phone call two months ago between the individual and an employee of the Russian intelligence services, in which the suspect had stated that "the French will have an opening ceremony like there has never been before."

No details have been released about the nature of the alleged plot to destabilize the games.

The newspaper reported that the detainee had trained as a chef in Paris and that he had taken part in Russian reality shows and cooking shows. He had described himself on his CV as a "private chef."

He first arrived in France in 2010 and spent some time at Courchevel, a ski resort known to the Russian elite, where he worked at a Michelin-starred restaurant, before leaving for Paris in 2012.

According to emails dating from September 2012, first by Le Monde, the suspect had told his landlady, named by the newspaper as Viviane, that he was returning to Moscow to work as an official in the Russian government. But he took part in a civic training day, a mandatory integration step in France, in April 2013.

Intelligence services had been tracking him for months. They intercepted a phone call with his boss in May, at a time when he was returning from a trip to Istanbul to his home in Paris.

He missed his flight due to excessive alcohol consumption and instead returned via Bulgaria, at which point the conversation about the Olympics opening ceremony was monitored, according to Le Monde.

At 6am local time on Sunday, police officers from the elite Search and Intervention Brigade (BRI), called by the General Directorate of Internal Security, raided the suspect's home on Rue Saint-Denis on the right bank of the Senna. Police have reportedly found "documents of diplomatic interest" at his home.

Last month, Microsoft said Russia was seeking to undermine the Olympics by creating fake websites mimicking authentic French media and using artificial intelligence to incite concern about violence and terrorism.

French Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin said this week that authorities had examined over a million people before the games.

"We are here to ensure that sport is not used for espionage, cyber attacks or to criticize and sometimes even to lie about France and the French," Darmanin said.


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