Three people were charged and detained in Paris, following a double case of economic espionage and interference in favor of Moscow, after the discovery of pro-Russian posters on the Arc de Triomphe, a symbol of the French capital.
One of the accused, Vyacheslav P., a 40-year-old Russian, was identified by security camera footage at the beginning of September posting posters glorifying Russia, according to the prosecution, in response to information released by the newspaper Le Parisien and the specialized website Intelligence Online.
This Russian then reported what happened over the phone to the founder of the association, a 40-year-old French-Russian woman suspected of approaching executives of French companies to obtain economic information.
Anna M., originally from Russia, had already been under investigation by the Directorate-General for Internal Security (DGSI, France’s internal intelligence agency) since at least the beginning of the year.
The DGSI detected “actions likely to harm the fundamental interests of the Nation”, which led to the opening of a preliminary investigation.
In March, an investigating judge was appointed to investigate, among other things, “conspiracy with a foreign power”, a crime punishable by 10 years in prison.
The third detainee is Vincent P., a 63-year-old man born on the outskirts of Paris.
A fourth defendant, Bernard F., 58 years old, born in Paris, was placed under strict judicial supervision, being obliged to appear at the police station once a week and hand over his identity documents.
The measure also prohibits him from any involvement in associations related to “French international politics, Russian politics or the provision of aid to individuals affected by the Russian-Ukrainian armed conflict”.
The association, which the DGSI suspected of serving as a front for these espionage and destabilization activities, called SOS Donbass (short for “Solidarity of South-West Donbass”), was registered in September 2022 at the Pyrénées-Atlantiques prefecture (south-west of France).
It presents itself as an organization providing humanitarian aid to civilians in this war-torn region of Ukraine.