Russian chef unmasked as ‘spy in plot to sabotage Paris Olympics’
A Russian reality TV “bachelor” turned Le Cordon Bleu-trained chef has been unmasked as an alleged spy plotting to sabotage the Paris Olympic Games.
Kirill Gryaznov, 40, was arrested on Sunday at his apartment in central Paris, where French authorities found documentation linked to an elite special operations unit under the command of Russia’s FSB security service.
The Russian, who has lived in France for 14 years, was charged with sharing “intelligence with a foreign power with a view to provoking hostilities in France”.
Mr Gryaznov said on a phone call, intercepted by French officers: “The French are going to have an opening ceremony like there has never been before.”
Witnesses also claimed he had brandished his FSB identification at a boozy dinner, telling neighbours he had a special mission to disrupt the Olympic Games.
While allegedly working as a Russian deep cover agent, Mr Gryaznov learned to cook at Le Cordon Bleu, one of the world’s most prestigious culinary schools, in 2010.
His Instagram account, which has more than 10,000 followers, is littered with carefully curated pictures of food, pancake recipes or of him posing in tailored suits and fur jackets.
Before moving to the French capital, the law graduate starred in the Russian reality television dating series Choose Me – modelled on the US show The Bachelor – as a self-styled “successful businessman and restaurateur”.
His CV, according to The Insider, the Russian investigative outlet, detailed a previous career path in finance, with two Luxembourg-based firms.
During his time in Luxembourg, Mr Gryaznov received a confidential military dossier on Maj Andrey Belyashov, a veteran of the second Chechen War, as an attachment, according to emails unearthed by the investigation.
The then young lawyer would often receive requests asking him to verify the profiles of Russian intelligence officers according to a joint probe by French newspaper Le Monde, Germany’s Der Spiegel and The Insider.
At roughly the same time, he is said to have shared correspondence with Lord Skidelsky, a crossbench peer who was on the board of directors of Rosneft, the Russian energy giant, between 2016 and 2021.
“I’m so pleased that I’ve met you yesterday! Hope to meet you soon in Moscow! We have a lot of things to talk about! Waiting for your reply,” Mr Gryaznov wrote to the peer.
Lord Skidelsky replied: “I too was happy to meet you – do vskoroi strechi [until next time]. I’m in Moscow 13-15 and 22-24 April and again in June.”
It is unclear whether the pair went on to meet.
In 2011, Mr Gryaznov moved to Courchevel, the French ski resort with a reputation for being a playground for the rich. There he worked in the kitchen at K2, a Michelin-starred restaurant favoured by Russian elites.
His friends in Paris, according to Le Monde, were unaware of his former life in Luxembourg.
It unravelled for the chef when he was picked up on the radars of several European intelligence services during a visit to Turkey, where he had arrived from Moscow.
On May 8, he was refused boarding on a plane from Istanbul to Paris for being too drunk, according to reports.
Instead, the 40-year-old took a taxi to the Bulgarian border, where he picked up another car to St Vlas, a resort on Bulgaria’s Black Sea Coast, where he owns property.
It was here at the dinner where Mr Gryaznov disclosed his identity and his assignment under the influence of alcohol, witnesses told the Insider.
He then travelled to Varna, a town 60 miles north, to catch a flight back to the French capital.
Before flying, Mr Gryaznov is said to have phoned his FSB handlers to inform them the operation was on track and that he had hired “one more Moldovan from Chisinau”.
It was this detail that piqued the interest of French investigators, because they have previously discovered Moldovans who have links to Russian espionage groups carrying out hybrid attacks in France.
Ironically, a former love interest once told him that “alcohol will get to you one day”.
Mr Gryaznov now faces up to 30 years in a French prison if he is found guilty.
Lord Skidelsky was contacted for comment.