A Russian chef, who has resided in France for 14 years, has been arrested on suspicion of conspiring with a foreign entity to carry out “large-scale” acts of “destabilization” during the upcoming Olympic Games in Paris.
A Russian chef, who has resided in France for 14 years, has been arrested on suspicion of conspiring with a foreign entity to carry out “large-scale” acts of “destabilization” during the upcoming Olympic Games in Paris.
The 40-year-old individual was apprehended during a raid on his Parisian apartment on Sunday. Authorities reportedly discovered a document associated with an elite Russian special forces unit under the FSB, the successor to the KGB.
A judicial investigation has been initiated into claims that the individual shared “intelligence with a foreign power with the intent of provoking hostilities in France,” a crime that carries a potential 30-year prison sentence. The alleged scheme is not considered to be related to terrorism.
The man, who remains unnamed, was formally charged with this offense and placed in pretrial detention on the same day.
The grand opening ceremony of Paris 2024, set to take place along the banks of the Seine on Friday evening, has sparked longstanding fears that Russia might attempt to interfere.
Parisian prosecutors revealed that the search of the Russian national’s apartment was conducted at the behest of the French interior ministry.
French media reports indicate that agents uncovered evidence pointing to the man's preparation of a “large-scale project” that could have had “serious” repercussions during the three-week event.
Le Monde reported that French intelligence services had intercepted a call two months ago between the suspect and a handler from Russian intelligence, during which the individual remarked, “The French are going to have an opening ceremony like there has never been before.” Details regarding the nature of the alleged conspiracy to destabilize the games remain undisclosed.
The newspaper also noted that the detained man had received his culinary training in Paris and had appeared on Russian reality and cooking shows. On his CV, he had listed himself as a “private chef.”
He first came to France in 2010 and spent some time working in a Michelin-starred restaurant in Courchevel, a ski resort favored by the Russian elite, before moving to Paris in 2012.
Emails from September 2012, reviewed by Le Monde, reveal that the suspect had informed his landlady, identified as Viviane, that he was returning to Moscow to take up a position with the Russian government. However, he participated in a civic training day, a mandatory integration step in France, in April 2013.