Gregorian Bivolaru is also wanted by Interpol for aggravated human trafficking.
The head of a multinational tantric yoga organization has been arrested by French authorities on suspicion of indoctrinating female practitioners for sexual exploitation.
Gregorian Bivolaru, the Romanian guru at the heart of the Atman Yoga Federation, was arrested Tuesday during a large police operation in the Paris region, according to a judicial official.
The 71-year-old is an internationally renowned yoga teacher and author whose federation, also known as the Movement for Absolute Spiritual Integration (Misa), is headquartered in the United Kingdom.
The movement has many yoga schools and several branches, says a source close to the investigation. “It is difficult to quantify the number of followers, but it is estimated at several hundred people.“.
Others “important officials“suspected members of the sect in France have been arrested, adds the source.
Alleged abuse
According to French authorities, the investigation into Gregorian Bivolaru and the Federation began in July 2023 after an investigation into acts of psychological manipulation and sexual exploitation within the organization. Former members of Misa first alerted authorities to the alleged abuse in July 2022.
According to French authorities, the main suspect is accused of human trafficking, organized kidnapping, rape and abuse of weakness in a gang organized by members of a sect.
Wanted by Interpol
The international police agency Interpol also issued a notice for the arrest of Gregorian Bivolaru on behalf of the Finnish authorities, where he is wanted for aggravated human trafficking.
The Altman Federation website and other sites about Gregorian Bivolaru claim that he is the victim of a vast conspiracy to discredit him.
The searches mobilized 175 police officers and gave rise to 40 other arrests in the capital, in Seine-et-Marne, in Val-de-Marne and in the Alpes-Maritimes.
Several locations used by the organization, where 26 women were allegedly indoctrinated and forced into sexual practices, were targeted by the operation.
Described as “ashrams”, these places were used to house women selected by the guru to be initiated into tantric yoga practices, according to French authorities.
The main defendant, who was convicted of raping a minor in his native Romania, founded Misa in 1990. The organization developed internationally under the name Atman Yoga Federation.
The French investigation found evidence that female students were forced into sexual activities, including participation in explicit video chats, in exchange for monetary gain, according to a judicial source.
These alleged activities, which were allegedly carried out under the guise of tantric yoga teachings, were part of a complex system of financial exploitation and control, the source said.