Russian arrested in France: He planned a terrorist attack during the Olympic Games?

The 40-year-old man was arrested during a raid on his apartment in central Paris on Sunday, where a document allegedly linked to an elite Russian special unit operating under the command of the FSB, the successor to the KGB, was found.

A judicial inquiry has been launched into allegations of sharing "intelligence with a foreign power with the aim of provoking hostilities in France", a crime punishable by 30 years in prison.

It is believed that the alleged plot was not related to terrorism, the "Guardian" reports.

The man, who has not been named, was charged with this charge on the same day and remanded in custody.

The ambitious opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics will be held on the banks of the Seine on Friday night and there have long been concerns that Russia could try to interfere in the events.

Prosecutors in Paris said that the search of the Russian citizen's apartment was carried out at the request of the French Ministry of the Interior.

He participated in Russian culinary reality shows

According to briefings given to French media, agents found evidence suggesting the man was preparing a "large-scale project" that could have "serious" consequences during the three weeks of the Games.

The French newspaper "Le Monde" reported that two months ago, the intelligence services intercepted a conversation between the person and the head of the Russian intelligence services in which the suspect stated that "the French will have an opening ceremony like never before."

No details were given about the nature of the alleged plot to destabilize the Games.

The newspaper reported that the man detained in Paris was trained as a chef and participated in Russian reality shows and cooking shows. He described himself in his biography as a "private chef".
 

The intelligence services followed him for months

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

According to emails from September 2012 seen by Le Monde, the suspect told his landlady, referred to by the paper as Vivian, that he was returning to Moscow to work as an official in the Russian government. But he participated in a day of civic training, a mandatory step of integration in France, in April 2013.

The intelligence services had been following him for months. They responded to his alleged phone call to his aide in May while he was returning from Istanbul to Paris. He missed the flight due to excessive alcohol consumption and instead returned via Bulgaria, which was followed by a discussion about the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games, according to "Le Monde".

At 6 a.m. on Sunday, officers from the elite "Investigation and Intervention Brigade (BRI), called by the Directorate General for Internal Security, raided the suspect's house on rue Saint-Denis on the right bank of the Seine. It is claimed that the police found "documents of diplomatic interest" among his belongings.

Warning that Russia is planning destabilization

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

French Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin said this week that authorities had screened more than a million people ahead of the games.

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