French Authorities Detain Yoga Guru for Suspected Involvement in Rape, Human Trafficking, and Kidnapping Scandal
French police arrest yoga guru Gregorian Bivolaru and 41 others following a year-long investigation into alleged crimes including rape, human trafficking, and kidnapping
This week, French police arrested yoga guru Gregorian Bivolaru and 41 others on charges of kidnap, rape, and human trafficking. The alleged victims were lured in with promises of spiritual enlightenment, only to be brainwashed and coerced into sexual relations with Bivolaru, who is 71 years old, according to a judicial source.
Bivolaru, who already had an Interpol warrant, and the others were apprehended in raids across Paris and other parts of France on Tuesday. Authorities discovered twenty-six alleged victims living in "deplorable" conditions.
Bivolaru established a network in Romania in 1990 known as the Movement for Spiritual Integration into the Absolute (MISA), which later gained international recognition as Atman - the International Federation of Yoga and Meditation, according to French prosecutors and a website affiliated with Bivolaru.
When reached for comment by CNN, MISA refuted any allegations of wrongdoing and stated that Bivolaru had not been involved in founding Atman or teaching yoga since 1995.
The Atman Federation board released a statement on the organization's website, denouncing the arrests as a "slanderous witch-hunt against genuine spirituality." The statement also emphasized that the federation is not responsible for the personal lives of its members.
The MISA Yoga School, as well as Atman's website, released a press statement stating that the French school implicated in the raids is connected to the Atman network but operates independently with its own management and organization.
When approached by CNN on Friday, a lawyer from the firm representing Bivolaru declined to comment. According to sources close to the case, Bivolaru and others appeared in court on Friday, with one source reporting that Bivolaru claimed to be "the victim of a political plot."
Year-long investigation
In July 2022, the Human Rights League, a French non-governmental organization (NGO), submitted reports from former members to a government agency responsible for monitoring and analyzing cult movements in France.
The next month, the Paris public prosecutors office passed the case on to the OCRVP - a French government agency in charge of probing supposed sects to determine if any crimes have taken place, as per a judicial source.
According to a judicial source, "several women from various countries have asserted that they were victims of the actions of the MISA organization and its leader Gregorian B."
The court source revealed that the school would attract victims by pretending to offer tantric yoga, a form of yoga rooted in Hindu traditions that focuses on spiritual awakening through sexuality. The alleged victims stated that they were mentally coerced into engaging in "sexual relations intended to negate any concept of consent in sexual matters," according to the judicial source.
According to the judicial source, the victims were told that giving consent was an obstacle to reaching spiritual enlightenment. The victims also alleged that they were pressured into engaging in sexual activities with the group's leader and subscribing to pornographic practices in France and internationally for a fee.
In July 2023, a judicial inquiry was launched to investigate accusations of exploitation of vulnerable individuals, kidnapping, sexual assault, and human trafficking by a sect member. The investigation led to a major operation on Tuesday, involving 175 French police officers in Paris and other regions, resulting in the arrest of Bivolaru and several others.
Cramped and unhygienic conditions were discovered where twenty-six alleged victims were found living, according to a judicial source.
The OCRVP spokesperson informed CNN that the operation to investigate and carry out the raids was led with the aid of reinforcements from the judicial police. A total of eight sites were raided.
Spiritual mentor
Founded in his home country of Romania in 1990, Bivolarus network of schools later expanded internationally to countries in Europe, North America, South America and Asia.
MISA's website claims to be the largest yoga school in Europe, touting its founder Bivolaru's extensive knowledge and practical experience. According to the website, MISA has offered yoga courses in over 250 towns in Romania and 33 other countries since 1990, with approximately 35,000 people practicing at the school.
"The yoga instructors undergo rigorous theoretical and practical exams, and receive specialized training," it states.
The accusations are the most recent in a series of significant charges against Bivolaru.
Convicted of raping a minor in Romania in 2013, he was sentenced to six years in prison in absentia and later extradited from France in 2016. Despite serving only a year and three months of his sentence, he fled Romania in 2017 while on conditional release, and continued his activities as a yoga guru.
He is currently on Interpol's wanted list for aggravated trafficking of human beings in Finland, a crime that carries a punishment of up to 10 years in prison. Reporting from Paris, Maya Szaniecki and reporting from London, Sophie Tanno.
