A Russian chef has been arrested on suspicion of plotting “large-scale” acts of “destabilization” during the Olympic Games on behalf of the Russian secret service.
A raid on the chef’s apartment on the bank of the river Seine in Paris was conducted on Sunday at the request of the French interior ministry.
The authorities reportedly found a document connected to an elite Russian special forces unit operating under the command of the FSB, the Russian secret service.
The chef, who has not been named, has been indicted and placed in pretrial detention.
A judicial investigation has begun into allegations that he shared “intelligence with a foreign power with a view to provoking hostilities in France.”
The authorities also found evidence suggesting the suspect was planning a “large-scale project” that would have “serious” repercussions on the Olympics, according to briefings shared with the French media.
The French daily, Le Monde, reported that two months earlier, the French intelligence services had listened in on a call between the suspect and a Russian intelligence agent while he was supposed to have been traveling from Istanbul to Paris.
During this trip, the chef had been turned away from his flight to Paris due to excessive alcohol consumption, at which point the chef told his associate on the phone that “the French are going to have an opening ceremony like there has never been before,” saying this in reference to the Olympic Games, according to Le Monde.
Gerald Darmanin, France’s interior minister, told TV broadcaster BFM that his ministry was “strongly” convinced that the chef “was going to organize operations of destabilization, interference.”
He said that “other Russian individuals” had been arrested over allegedly trying to spread disinformation ahead of the Olympic Games.
No details about the nature of the Russian chef’s alleged plot to meddle in the games were provided, but prosecutors ruled out a link to terrorism.
The man, trained as a chef in Paris, took part in Russian reality and cooking shows.
He also worked in a Michelin-starred restaurant in Courchevel, a ski resort that is popular with the Russian elite.
Last month, Microsoft warned that Russia was planning to stoke concern over violence and terrorism during the Olympics by spreading disinformation via fake websites and fake media resembling French news outlets.
The authorities reportedly found a document connected to an elite Russian special forces unit operating under the command of the FSB, the Russian secret service.
The chef, who has not been named, has been indicted and placed in pretrial detention.
A judicial investigation has begun into allegations that he shared “intelligence with a foreign power with a view to provoking hostilities in France.”
The authorities also found evidence suggesting the suspect was planning a “large-scale project” that would have “serious” repercussions on the Olympics, according to briefings shared with the French media.
The French daily, Le Monde, reported that two months earlier, the French intelligence services had listened in on a call between the suspect and a Russian intelligence agent while he was supposed to have been traveling from Istanbul to Paris.
During this trip, the chef had been turned away from his flight to Paris due to excessive alcohol consumption, at which point the chef told his associate on the phone that “the French are going to have an opening ceremony like there has never been before,” saying this in reference to the Olympic Games, according to Le Monde.
Gerald Darmanin, France’s interior minister, told TV broadcaster BFM that his ministry was “strongly” convinced that the chef “was going to organize operations of destabilization, interference.”
He said that “other Russian individuals” had been arrested over allegedly trying to spread disinformation ahead of the Olympic Games.
No details about the nature of the Russian chef’s alleged plot to meddle in the games were provided, but prosecutors ruled out a link to terrorism.
The man, trained as a chef in Paris, took part in Russian reality and cooking shows.
He also worked in a Michelin-starred restaurant in Courchevel, a ski resort that is popular with the Russian elite.
Last month, Microsoft warned that Russia was planning to stoke concern over violence and terrorism during the Olympics by spreading disinformation via fake websites and fake media resembling French news outlets.
Source: The Guardian, Euronews
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