Kremlin-linked operatives scramble to stop extradition of mercenary accused of plotting coup | Romania

Russian figures close to the Kremlin are making a last-minute attempt to stop the extradition from Dubai of a Romanian-French mercenary wanted for plotting a coup in Romania, the Guardian has revealed.

The suspect, Horaţiu Potra, a former French Foreign Legionnaire, was arrested at Dubai airport on September 24 as he prepared to board a flight to Moscow with his son and nephew. Romanian investigators had accused them of conspiring with Potra’s ally, the far-right politician Călin Georgescu, to “overthrow the constitutional order”.

Romanian authorities confirmed Potra’s arrest in Dubai and said they were working with UAE authorities to secure his extradition to stand trial in Romania, while the country’s attorney general said in interviews with local media that Potra was thought to be seeking asylum in Russia.

The effort to block his extradition is being led by Igor Spivak, head of the Russian Middle East Community, a group with close ties to the Russian foreign ministry, and Igor Kalinin, a Moldovan-born Russian deputy who fled to Moscow and recruited Moldovans to fight alongside Russian forces in Ukraine.

“Right now we are trying to stop the extradition of Potra,” Spivak said in a phone interview Monday. “We have a lot of experience and a lot of people are working towards his release,” he said, adding that he had recruited “a group of our very respected lawyers” who had been working on Potra’s release in the UAE and planned to travel to Dubai himself.

Earlier this month, Potra tried to cancel the arrest warrant in Romania through its lawyers, but the judge rejected the request.

This statement sheds new light on Potra’s connections with Moscow.

Clean shaven and well-built, Potra served in the French Foreign Legion before working as a bodyguard for leaders including the Emir of Qatar. He later founded a series of private military companies that sent men to conflicts in the Central African Republic and the Democratic Republic of Congo. His career and appearance have been compared to that of the former Russian warlord Yevgeny Prigozhin.

About 300 of Potra’s fighters were captured by the M23 paramilitary group in the DRC in January while fighting alongside government forces, then were released and repatriated.

Potra had recently made headlines in Romania as a close friend of ultra-nationalist, pro-Russian politician Georgescu.

Georgescu, a 63-year-old former environmental engineer, achieved a surprise victory in the first round of Romania’s presidential elections last November. Following allegations of Russian interference, the result was annulled by the constitutional court days before the second round, in an unprecedented move.

In early December, Potra and nearly two dozen of his friends were briefly detained in Romania after authorities blocked their way to Bucharest for allegedly planning violent protests after the first round of elections was cancelled. Investigators later discovered illegal weapons and large amounts of cash at his multiple residences.

Romanian prosecutors later alleged that Georgescu met with Potra and members of his group at a horse farm in December, shortly after his election victory was overturned, with the aim of planning a violent seizure of power, according to prosecution files seen by the Guardian.

Georgescu at first denied meeting Potra, but changed his mind after photos of the two men together appeared in the Romanian press. Georgescu maintains that no plans for an uprising were discussed.

Potra had previously denied any links to Russia, but according to photographs, hotel reservations and flight tickets added to the prosecutor’s file and seen by the Guardian, he met Russia’s ambassador to Romania, Valery Kuzmin, during a National Day event at the Russian embassy and traveled frequently to Moscow.

Prosecutors also included photos in social media comments showing Georgescu’s bodyguard’s partner posing with Chechen fighters and expressing support for Russian President Vladimir Putin. The bodyguard, who fought as a mercenary under the command of Potra in the Congo, was also present at the horse farm meeting held with Georgescu in December.

According to text messages and invoices in the prosecutor’s file, Potra also faces tax evasion charges in Romania for income from mercenary activities in Africa and accusations that he illegally financed Georgescu’s campaign by providing cash and covering the monthly rent of a luxury limousine for the presidential candidate.

“Maybe we can meet next weekend, on Friday afternoon,” Georgescu wrote in a text message to Potra in August 2024, according to prosecutors’ files. “The elections are on November 24. Please I need your support until then.”

Romania’s justice ministry and prosecutor general’s office did not respond to requests for comment.

The extent of Moscow’s direct involvement in the incident remains unclear. A source with direct knowledge of the situation said Russian authorities “gave the green light” for Spivak and Kalinin to intervene in efforts to free Potra.

While Spivak said her involvement in the Potra case was “on her own initiative,” the Russian Middle East Community, a non-governmental organization that officially presents itself as a human rights group, was closely cooperating with the Russian foreign ministry.

Spivak frequently organizes events with the Russian Foreign Ministry and recently organized an art exhibition in Moscow with the ministry’s support, featuring works by Aisha Gaddafi, the daughter of the former Libyan leader.

“Of course the ministry supports us. It would be hard to deny that,” Spivak said, adding that her organization consists of “many former foreign ministry employees and former ambassadors.”

Spivak said he became involved at the request of Kalinin, the former head of Moldova’s pro-Russian Regions party, who fled the country to Russia and has been recruiting Moldovans to fight in Ukraine ever since.

Kalinin, who has been stripped of his Moldovan citizenship and carries a Russian passport, is under EU and US sanctions for his activities aimed at destabilizing Moldova as a Kremlin collaborator. He also vowed to lead a group of fighters in a march on the Moldovan capital Chisinau to overthrow the pro-western government of president Maia Sandu.

A Moldovan official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told the Guardian that Kalinin was “probably a Russian proxy with links to their secret services”.

Kalinin did not respond to a request for comment but the Guardian has seen text messages in which he discusses efforts to secure Potra’s release from prison.

Spivak said he would fly to Dubai on Wednesday to meet with Potra, but acknowledged that attempts to stop the extradition had faltered and added that he believed the mercenary could be sent back to Romania on Thursday.

“The situation is difficult,” he said.