For several decades, the man has been accused of serious crimes connected to the designated yoga sect he was the “spiritual leader” of, and which ran schools in several places in Europe.
Among other things, he has been accused of having indoctrinated female members to be sexually exploited.
“There is no sex”
In 2005, he was convicted in his home country of Romania for raping a child after having a sexual relationship with a yoga student, and he then fled to Sweden, where he received a residence permit.
He settled in Karlskrona where a yoga school was also started. There, the teachers refuted that it would be some kind of “sex cult”.
– Of course we are talking about sexuality. It is a human force that we teach how to control. But our teaching is theoretical. What the participants do when they get home is up to them. But there is no sex in our courses, said one of the yoga teachers in Karlskrona to Sydöstran in 2005.
Despite the fact that the 71-year-old has left Sweden for several years, he is still registered at an address in central Karlskrona.
Strike in France
On Tuesday, the 71-year-old was arrested in a major crackdown in France. He is suspected of, among other things, human trafficking, organized kidnapping and rape, French media reports.
The other 40 arrested are suspected of being key figures in the sect accused of abuse, under the guise of practicing yoga. The sect runs several yoga schools and other activities.
A total of 175 police officers took part in Tuesday’s raids, which were carried out simultaneously in Paris, Seine-et-Marne, Val-de-Marne and Alpes-Maritimes. The cult leader himself was reportedly arrested in Val-de-Marne.
During the raids, 26 women were freed, several of whom were held against their will, according to sources to AFP.