1
00:00:13,972 --> 00:00:18,977
I promised not to speak
of going there or meeting him.
2
00:00:20,771 --> 00:00:22,940
The journeys, the houses…
3
00:00:24,107 --> 00:00:25,609
that was part of the vow.
4
00:00:27,736 --> 00:00:31,281
It was so beautiful
to be part of the sisterhood.
5
00:00:32,031 --> 00:00:36,203
I promised not to share any of it.
6
00:00:42,709 --> 00:00:46,505
Every guru says,
"But our members are free…
7
00:00:47,297 --> 00:00:51,009
There are no chains round their ankles,
nor round their arms."
8
00:00:53,262 --> 00:00:55,764
It's just trusting the guru, like…
9
00:00:55,848 --> 00:00:59,309
There's nothing naive on trusting a guru
to guide you. Right?
10
00:01:00,686 --> 00:01:02,229
I just wanted to practice yoga.
11
00:01:03,230 --> 00:01:04,897
I didn't know that sex was involved
12
00:01:05,524 --> 00:01:07,985
until I had been locked
in a house for five days.
13
00:01:09,945 --> 00:01:14,825
This lack of freedom comes
from the cage in their mind,
14
00:01:15,450 --> 00:01:18,370
a cage which the guru
has put in their heads.
15
00:01:20,497 --> 00:01:23,375
French law is specific.
16
00:01:23,917 --> 00:01:27,171
If you are abusing people
who are under your influence,
17
00:01:27,254 --> 00:01:29,047
that's a big problem.
18
00:01:29,590 --> 00:01:32,843
I cannot sit on my hands and do nothing.
19
00:01:58,619 --> 00:02:01,538
I went on the train to Paris.
20
00:02:03,582 --> 00:02:06,877
The receptionist
at Tara Yoga Centre in London,
21
00:02:06,960 --> 00:02:09,755
she sent me the number
for a woman I'd never met.
22
00:02:11,048 --> 00:02:12,090
I think she was Romanian,
23
00:02:12,174 --> 00:02:14,134
and I had to communicate with her
via Telegram.
24
00:02:14,218 --> 00:02:17,054
So via a secure messaging app.
25
00:02:17,137 --> 00:02:19,181
But she said I had to…
There was an understanding
26
00:02:19,264 --> 00:02:22,017
I had to delete those messages
as soon as she'd sent them.
27
00:02:24,770 --> 00:02:27,481
She was telling me
that it was absolutely secret,
28
00:02:27,564 --> 00:02:29,441
and I couldn't tell anyone
where I was going.
29
00:02:32,402 --> 00:02:37,699
And I had to just tell my parents
that I was going on a silent retreat
30
00:02:37,783 --> 00:02:38,784
in Denmark.
31
00:02:39,535 --> 00:02:41,828
It was easier to not question.
32
00:02:41,912 --> 00:02:46,124
Just go with it and just trust
that I was where I was meant to be.
33
00:02:48,669 --> 00:02:53,048
That was how I got around the fact
that I was gonna be uncontactable.
34
00:02:59,638 --> 00:03:03,934
My invitation came
after the end of the second year.
35
00:03:04,560 --> 00:03:06,520
It said, "You've been invited
to meet Grieg.
36
00:03:06,895 --> 00:03:10,357
It's a spiritual retreat,
it's gonna be really beneficial for you."
37
00:03:10,440 --> 00:03:13,610
I flew there from Copenhagen to Paris.
38
00:03:18,657 --> 00:03:19,741
At the train station
39
00:03:19,825 --> 00:03:22,244
a girl came to me
and she said, "Are you Claire?"
40
00:03:22,327 --> 00:03:23,328
Claire's my middle name.
41
00:03:23,412 --> 00:03:25,330
I don't know why
they thought my name was Claire.
42
00:03:25,414 --> 00:03:27,791
She's like, "Are you Claire?"
I said, "Well, no, I'm Ashleigh."
43
00:03:27,875 --> 00:03:29,668
And she…
44
00:03:30,919 --> 00:03:32,588
took me to a car.
45
00:03:34,590 --> 00:03:36,258
I had to give her my phone.
46
00:03:38,510 --> 00:03:41,471
She took the SIM card out of the phone,
and wrapped that in foil.
47
00:03:41,555 --> 00:03:42,848
Wrapped the phone in foil.
48
00:03:43,390 --> 00:03:47,936
She said, "Oh, we're like the FBI,
you know, or the CIA."
49
00:03:48,020 --> 00:03:49,188
And they said,
50
00:03:49,271 --> 00:03:51,565
"For your protection, we need to…
51
00:03:51,648 --> 00:03:53,567
it's important you don't know
where we're going.
52
00:03:53,650 --> 00:03:56,486
And so in order to do that,
I need you to wear this hat
53
00:03:56,570 --> 00:03:58,655
and sunglasses that are blacked out."
54
00:04:01,533 --> 00:04:05,537
They said that INTERPOL
have a warrant out for his arrest.
55
00:04:07,289 --> 00:04:10,918
The spiritual guide, he was a fugitive
and he was in hiding.
56
00:04:11,877 --> 00:04:16,673
And they said he was a victim
of human rights violations.
57
00:04:17,757 --> 00:04:22,930
The corrupt Romanian police
had been responsible for this.
58
00:04:25,098 --> 00:04:28,727
I was nervous, but there's
this overall trust of the organization,
59
00:04:28,810 --> 00:04:31,480
like, "Okay,
there's a secret thing happening.
60
00:04:31,563 --> 00:04:32,856
They're trying to protect us.
61
00:04:32,940 --> 00:04:36,401
We need to not know where he is
because he's in hiding.
62
00:04:36,485 --> 00:04:39,196
Because all of these things
have happened to him." Right?
63
00:04:43,951 --> 00:04:45,244
He wasn't really…
64
00:04:46,036 --> 00:04:50,165
showcased all that much
to the men in the school.
65
00:04:51,166 --> 00:04:52,793
So I was curious.
66
00:04:54,503 --> 00:05:00,884
I also asked whether my tantric partners
had seen him as well or visited.
67
00:05:00,968 --> 00:05:02,469
When they quickly dismissed it
68
00:05:02,553 --> 00:05:06,390
and made it very clear to me
that, no, they've not seen him.
69
00:05:07,266 --> 00:05:09,560
I had no reason to not believe them.
70
00:05:09,643 --> 00:05:11,645
I just thought, "Oh, okay."
71
00:05:11,728 --> 00:05:15,774
But that was the, sort of, first time
I actually did question,
72
00:05:15,858 --> 00:05:19,736
"Are there people going to see him
that we're not really aware of?"
73
00:05:19,820 --> 00:05:21,822
There are all these
hidden camps and retreats
74
00:05:21,905 --> 00:05:24,491
that people just disappear
for weeks on end.
75
00:05:25,826 --> 00:05:28,579
And you hadn't told Ziggy?
76
00:05:29,037 --> 00:05:30,037
No.
77
00:05:30,831 --> 00:05:33,083
- Why?
- 'Cause I couldn't.
78
00:05:33,166 --> 00:05:35,961
Like, I had made a vow.
I wasn't allowed to talk to anyone.
79
00:05:36,920 --> 00:05:40,549
So I couldn't say to Ziggy.
I was, like, under oath.
80
00:05:44,720 --> 00:05:47,973
There was some interesting pieces
through the media back in Romania.
81
00:05:50,017 --> 00:05:52,060
All of these wacky stories.
82
00:05:52,728 --> 00:05:55,147
These constant scandals.
83
00:05:56,148 --> 00:05:57,524
Our teacher told us,
84
00:05:57,941 --> 00:06:03,280
"He was wrongly prosecuted back then.
The same thing's happening now."
85
00:06:03,655 --> 00:06:06,074
And that's pretty much all we were told.
86
00:06:09,912 --> 00:06:13,207
I got the sense that we were driving
pretty far away from the city
87
00:06:13,290 --> 00:06:14,666
into the suburbs.
88
00:06:15,751 --> 00:06:17,794
I was just telling myself, "Surrender."
89
00:06:19,463 --> 00:06:20,672
"Just surrender."
90
00:06:21,798 --> 00:06:22,966
"Surrender."
91
00:06:25,052 --> 00:06:27,262
Eventually, we pulled up at this house,
92
00:06:27,346 --> 00:06:29,556
and with the hat and glasses still on,
93
00:06:30,474 --> 00:06:32,142
I was taken inside.
94
00:06:36,021 --> 00:06:37,523
The house confirmed for me
95
00:06:37,606 --> 00:06:39,733
that we were definitely
in a suburban area.
96
00:06:39,816 --> 00:06:43,487
It was a three-story house.
It was quite big, it had lots of bedrooms.
97
00:06:44,905 --> 00:06:48,951
And the fence had this,
kind of, like, greenish, sort of…
98
00:06:49,493 --> 00:06:51,286
almost like a tarp, or a netting.
99
00:07:00,879 --> 00:07:05,217
Gregorian Bivolaru has been
known to French authorities since 2016.
100
00:07:09,137 --> 00:07:13,058
But before then, we knew
that it wasn't a normal yoga movement.
101
00:07:16,353 --> 00:07:21,608
MISA had already been reported
to the local police,
102
00:07:22,401 --> 00:07:27,447
because their activities
raised the neighbors' suspicions.
103
00:07:29,658 --> 00:07:33,579
Our investigations identified
half a dozen locations,
104
00:07:35,914 --> 00:07:38,876
involving many,
many participants and many victims,
105
00:07:40,210 --> 00:07:43,630
potentially over a very long
period of time.
106
00:07:45,632 --> 00:07:50,012
And the question we were asking
ourselves at that point was:
107
00:07:50,095 --> 00:07:55,684
Is this a case of organized crime?
Is it kidnapping? Human trafficking?
108
00:07:55,767 --> 00:07:57,686
Or is this a cult crime?
109
00:08:02,816 --> 00:08:05,152
We go into the house…
110
00:08:06,153 --> 00:08:07,446
and…
111
00:08:07,529 --> 00:08:11,074
there were these two girls just lying
on the couch watching pornography.
112
00:08:11,158 --> 00:08:13,243
Like, hardcore porn, on the television.
113
00:08:14,912 --> 00:08:17,956
And they just sort of giggled
and switched it off and scattered around.
114
00:08:18,040 --> 00:08:19,666
Scattered off to another room.
115
00:08:21,877 --> 00:08:24,087
Then they settled me into my room.
116
00:08:28,217 --> 00:08:31,136
When I arrived, there were over 20 people.
117
00:08:31,220 --> 00:08:32,220
All women.
118
00:08:32,763 --> 00:08:36,433
And some of them were girls
that were just in the process,
119
00:08:36,517 --> 00:08:37,934
the same as us, just visiting.
120
00:08:38,018 --> 00:08:43,273
And others were controlling the operation
or in some position of authority.
121
00:08:45,442 --> 00:08:49,029
Those were the ones who received us
and they're all Romanian.
122
00:08:49,112 --> 00:08:53,784
So anyone in any position of authority,
while I was in Paris, is Romanian.
123
00:08:54,409 --> 00:08:55,494
And there's this feeling
124
00:08:55,577 --> 00:08:58,247
that you're inside
this well-oiled machine.
125
00:09:01,583 --> 00:09:03,669
The first thing they did
is they went through all of our bags,
126
00:09:03,752 --> 00:09:05,462
and they looked for certain things.
127
00:09:05,546 --> 00:09:07,923
Maybe an extra phone
or some other paperwork.
128
00:09:08,006 --> 00:09:10,926
And they took anything,
any identifying details
129
00:09:11,009 --> 00:09:13,220
and any electronic devices.
130
00:09:14,513 --> 00:09:16,890
And then they introduced the program,
131
00:09:16,974 --> 00:09:20,435
and they said you'll eventually
be taken to meet Grieg.
132
00:09:20,519 --> 00:09:21,603
But before that happens
133
00:09:21,687 --> 00:09:24,022
there's all of these
other things you need to do.
134
00:09:26,775 --> 00:09:28,402
I had to do the vows.
135
00:09:28,485 --> 00:09:31,029
Again, putting my hand on the Bible
136
00:09:31,113 --> 00:09:33,782
and taking those vows on my health
and my spiritual evolution,
137
00:09:33,866 --> 00:09:36,910
that I would never speak of anything
that happened there.
138
00:09:36,994 --> 00:09:42,082
Then I had to write on these forms,
agreeing to punishments.
139
00:09:42,165 --> 00:09:44,668
One of the things I had to sign
was agreeing to the punishment
140
00:09:44,751 --> 00:09:48,046
of shaving my head
for five years, immediately,
141
00:09:48,130 --> 00:09:52,217
if I was caught trying to steal
any of the secret teachings
142
00:09:52,301 --> 00:09:53,427
from the house.
143
00:09:55,512 --> 00:10:00,225
And knowing that in tantra,
sexual initiation was a thing,
144
00:10:00,309 --> 00:10:02,436
I had gathered this impression that…
145
00:10:03,520 --> 00:10:07,191
it was likely that these
sexual initiations were happening,
146
00:10:07,274 --> 00:10:10,652
and that the spiritual guide
was probably engaging in them.
147
00:10:16,366 --> 00:10:17,367
I knew…
148
00:10:18,327 --> 00:10:21,038
I knew that it would be
a sexual initiation.
149
00:10:21,121 --> 00:10:25,209
And here was this opportunity for…
150
00:10:26,168 --> 00:10:29,004
beyond satisfaction.
151
00:10:29,087 --> 00:10:31,715
A kind of ultimate happiness
and enlightenment.
152
00:10:32,466 --> 00:10:34,218
It was a promise:
153
00:10:34,927 --> 00:10:39,890
"You will experience these things
and everything will change."
154
00:10:45,854 --> 00:10:48,190
I grew up in Oxford.
155
00:10:50,484 --> 00:10:52,361
I had a privileged upbringing.
156
00:10:52,444 --> 00:10:55,280
We were very lucky.
157
00:10:56,114 --> 00:10:59,660
I went to a private school.
We went on great holidays.
158
00:11:01,745 --> 00:11:05,916
I was a very sensitive child. Very shy.
159
00:11:07,251 --> 00:11:09,670
I changed quite a lot as a teenager.
160
00:11:10,337 --> 00:11:16,718
You know, we started to go out drinking
and, you know, smoking, and…
161
00:11:17,636 --> 00:11:18,636
having fun.
162
00:11:24,434 --> 00:11:28,522
I reached a point in my late twenties
when I was partying a lot,
163
00:11:28,605 --> 00:11:31,275
I was in quite a difficult relationship.
164
00:11:31,900 --> 00:11:35,529
I noticed there was a pattern in terms
of the relationships that I was in
165
00:11:35,612 --> 00:11:37,614
and the type of people I was attracted to.
166
00:11:38,073 --> 00:11:41,827
And my answer would be
to go out and get wasted.
167
00:11:42,578 --> 00:11:45,873
It numbed the feelings temporarily.
168
00:11:46,498 --> 00:11:50,836
When I was 29,
I started going to 12-step groups.
169
00:11:50,919 --> 00:11:53,881
I really cut down on the partying.
170
00:11:54,798 --> 00:11:58,510
And I started to look into
yoga and meditation.
171
00:12:01,555 --> 00:12:05,976
So when I found Tara Yoga Centre,
172
00:12:08,770 --> 00:12:12,024
there was a sense of, like, a click.
An "aha" moment.
173
00:12:13,734 --> 00:12:17,571
I was completely intrigued
by the possibility
174
00:12:17,654 --> 00:12:23,202
that I could have a deeply
spiritual experience in lovemaking.
175
00:12:29,958 --> 00:12:32,836
For the first week in Paris
176
00:12:32,920 --> 00:12:35,756
I was just focused on
getting those tasks done.
177
00:12:35,839 --> 00:12:39,176
Watching the films,
we had to watch a series of porn films.
178
00:12:39,259 --> 00:12:41,720
Write about how we felt about them
179
00:12:41,803 --> 00:12:44,681
and what kind of states we perceived
that the women were having.
180
00:12:45,224 --> 00:12:50,270
It was, like, everything
that had ever happened in the school
181
00:12:50,354 --> 00:12:51,939
had been leading up to this.
182
00:12:55,359 --> 00:12:58,070
There was a woman
who'd been there for two or three months.
183
00:12:58,153 --> 00:13:01,949
I said, "When are you leaving?"
And she's like, "Soon, I hope."
184
00:13:02,032 --> 00:13:04,076
But you had to wait
for his permission to leave.
185
00:13:04,159 --> 00:13:06,662
She couldn't…
She didn't know when she was going.
186
00:13:07,037 --> 00:13:10,541
I remember walking out once
and seeing the girl that won Miss Shakti,
187
00:13:11,333 --> 00:13:12,417
back in August.
188
00:13:12,918 --> 00:13:15,796
She was there
and her head had been shaved.
189
00:13:16,588 --> 00:13:19,883
And there was this note about her,
how her ego had gotten so big
190
00:13:19,967 --> 00:13:23,136
and she needed to kind of be
put back in her place, kind of thing.
191
00:13:23,220 --> 00:13:26,306
But she was sort of, like,
cut off from everyone.
192
00:13:26,390 --> 00:13:28,267
I was like,
"That's what happens to Miss Shakti?
193
00:13:28,350 --> 00:13:31,687
That's what happens to the winner?
Her head gets shaved?"
194
00:13:36,191 --> 00:13:37,818
It was becoming clear
195
00:13:37,901 --> 00:13:41,446
that every single woman who was there
had been initiated.
196
00:13:41,864 --> 00:13:43,991
They did say, "No, sometimes he doesn't."
197
00:13:44,074 --> 00:13:46,535
But I didn't see anyone there
who hadn't been initiated.
198
00:13:50,831 --> 00:13:54,293
So they kind of feed you
through this thing for quite a few days.
199
00:13:54,793 --> 00:13:58,005
And it was about day five or six,
200
00:13:58,088 --> 00:14:00,883
where they said, "Okay, now
that you've done all these things,
201
00:14:00,966 --> 00:14:04,469
we can tell you that the reason
that you're here,
202
00:14:04,553 --> 00:14:07,848
when you meet with him,
there will be an opportunity to…
203
00:14:08,640 --> 00:14:10,559
receive sexual initiation from him."
204
00:14:10,934 --> 00:14:14,438
And they framed it as if it was an option.
205
00:14:23,322 --> 00:14:26,033
As it happened, he decided
that I should arrive to him
206
00:14:26,116 --> 00:14:28,785
on the day of my 30th birthday.
207
00:14:31,997 --> 00:14:34,499
I was taken by a driver again.
208
00:14:36,502 --> 00:14:38,754
With the hat and the sunglasses.
209
00:14:39,588 --> 00:14:41,381
And this time it was to an apartment,
210
00:14:41,465 --> 00:14:46,053
and I believe that he parked in
a kind of underground parking garage.
211
00:14:48,764 --> 00:14:51,016
Most of our friends
had been there already.
212
00:14:54,102 --> 00:14:56,563
I found it quite incredible
that after so many years
213
00:14:56,647 --> 00:14:59,733
none of the neighbors sensed
214
00:14:59,816 --> 00:15:02,611
that these guys were coming in
and out of that house.
215
00:15:04,404 --> 00:15:06,198
Every day, all the time.
216
00:15:07,199 --> 00:15:10,327
At least three
or four girls a day, for sure.
217
00:15:11,662 --> 00:15:13,580
Some girls would go every month.
218
00:15:14,248 --> 00:15:15,624
His favorites.
219
00:15:19,002 --> 00:15:20,420
And he knocked at the door
220
00:15:20,504 --> 00:15:22,965
and we had to wait for a minute
before it was opened.
221
00:15:24,299 --> 00:15:26,218
And then it was Grieg who opened the door.
222
00:15:26,301 --> 00:15:31,974
And he welcomed me
and gave a hug and said, "Happy Birthday."
223
00:15:32,057 --> 00:15:35,811
And then he kind of sent me down the hall
224
00:15:35,894 --> 00:15:38,146
and went back into his room.
225
00:15:38,897 --> 00:15:39,800
"Okay.
226
00:15:39,815 --> 00:15:42,568
It's the real person
that everyone's so obsessed with.
227
00:15:42,651 --> 00:15:45,779
It's this guy, and he's really old."
228
00:15:45,863 --> 00:15:50,075
Looking into his eyes,
it was almost like a…
229
00:15:51,451 --> 00:15:54,371
like an empty space?
230
00:15:56,123 --> 00:15:59,710
That pulls you in
at the same time as being empty.
231
00:16:00,919 --> 00:16:03,255
I couldn't sense any emotions from him.
232
00:16:03,714 --> 00:16:04,714
Nothing.
233
00:16:13,348 --> 00:16:16,393
I'm in this weird, really tiny apartment
234
00:16:17,060 --> 00:16:19,062
where there's just books everywhere.
235
00:16:21,982 --> 00:16:24,776
There's bookshelves
on each side of the hallway,
236
00:16:25,319 --> 00:16:27,321
in his room and the other room.
237
00:16:31,283 --> 00:16:35,996
If you go down the hallway,
there's the toilet and the bathroom.
238
00:16:40,918 --> 00:16:44,213
A tiny little corner where they have
a bar fridge, a really small fridge.
239
00:16:46,590 --> 00:16:50,177
And then there is the actual bedroom,
which is just an average-sized bedroom.
240
00:16:52,471 --> 00:16:56,725
And that is where the girls are kept
who are taken to him for sex.
241
00:17:00,938 --> 00:17:03,899
At any point,
there's always a few girls there.
242
00:17:06,859 --> 00:17:09,905
Everyone's sweaty. They take your clothes,
so you don't really have…
243
00:17:09,988 --> 00:17:11,490
Like sometimes people are naked
244
00:17:11,573 --> 00:17:13,700
or you're just wearing
something very minimal,
245
00:17:13,784 --> 00:17:15,993
you don't really have your own clothes.
246
00:17:16,994 --> 00:17:19,289
The place is locked from the outside,
247
00:17:20,123 --> 00:17:22,084
so you can't open the door
from the inside.
248
00:17:24,211 --> 00:17:25,420
And you're sleeping there,
249
00:17:25,503 --> 00:17:28,882
you're eating there.
You're doing everything in that space.
250
00:17:30,717 --> 00:17:33,053
He had a team of girls
who were cooking for him.
251
00:17:33,136 --> 00:17:34,137
So they will send it to him,
252
00:17:34,221 --> 00:17:36,223
he will eat a little bit,
and then he will give
253
00:17:36,306 --> 00:17:38,684
all the rest to the girls.
They will store it in the fridge.
254
00:17:40,936 --> 00:17:43,689
But the rule was you couldn't
throw anything on the garbage.
255
00:17:43,772 --> 00:17:45,482
So you had to eat
everything which was there
256
00:17:45,566 --> 00:17:48,485
before you could open a new one,
a new batch of food.
257
00:17:48,569 --> 00:17:51,488
And it would be girls just, like,
eating this moldy food, like…
258
00:17:51,572 --> 00:17:53,866
Because they had to,
like, that was the rule,
259
00:17:53,949 --> 00:17:55,701
otherwise you would get
in trouble and stuff.
260
00:17:58,662 --> 00:18:01,832
Every so often, someone
gets called in to meet with him.
261
00:18:02,332 --> 00:18:06,003
You hear them having sex for hours.
You hear really loud music.
262
00:18:08,213 --> 00:18:09,423
She eventually comes out.
263
00:18:09,506 --> 00:18:12,551
And really soon after that
she's picked up and taken away
264
00:18:12,634 --> 00:18:13,719
to the third house.
265
00:18:13,802 --> 00:18:19,349
And then, often not long after that,
someone else turns up and takes her place.
266
00:18:19,433 --> 00:18:22,394
And there's people there saying,
"I've been here six times.
267
00:18:23,145 --> 00:18:25,355
I love it.
It's the most amazing experience.
268
00:18:25,439 --> 00:18:27,441
It gives me so much."
269
00:18:27,900 --> 00:18:29,568
And they believe that.
270
00:18:29,651 --> 00:18:31,195
Do you believe them?
271
00:18:32,988 --> 00:18:34,865
Maybe in some way.
272
00:18:35,699 --> 00:18:41,288
I still felt really uncertain,
but I felt like I was open to see.
273
00:18:49,463 --> 00:18:52,216
I had a fantastic experience.
274
00:18:53,133 --> 00:18:55,344
We started the ritual.
275
00:18:56,970 --> 00:19:00,307
Going deeply into the transfiguration.
276
00:19:01,767 --> 00:19:05,229
Just as we were taught
in the tantra classes.
277
00:19:08,148 --> 00:19:13,654
Of seeing ourselves and seeing each other
as these deeply spiritual beings.
278
00:19:18,325 --> 00:19:22,955
It's the perfect union of the inner
masculine, the inner feminine.
279
00:19:24,164 --> 00:19:25,791
The Yin and the Yang.
280
00:19:26,458 --> 00:19:27,876
Shiva and Shakti.
281
00:19:31,880 --> 00:19:34,800
I almost ceased to exist.
282
00:19:38,554 --> 00:19:42,432
Somehow I traveled outside of my body.
283
00:19:45,477 --> 00:19:49,189
He guided me through
every single little step.
284
00:19:54,403 --> 00:19:58,615
For me it was a spectacular,
really beautiful meeting.
285
00:19:58,699 --> 00:20:00,951
And after that I was complete.
286
00:20:06,164 --> 00:20:11,628
Like, I wanted to believe
that it was going to be…
287
00:20:12,296 --> 00:20:15,591
like a milestone for me
in my spiritual path.
288
00:20:15,674 --> 00:20:17,926
I wanted it to be, of course.
289
00:20:21,180 --> 00:20:22,639
'Cause it was always difficult for me.
290
00:20:23,724 --> 00:20:28,520
I never felt that I was, you know,
voluptuous, full of vitality.
291
00:20:29,730 --> 00:20:32,858
I never felt that I fell
into the category of, you know,
292
00:20:32,941 --> 00:20:36,069
this kind of awakened Shakti woman.
293
00:20:38,530 --> 00:20:41,200
I am from the south of Argentina.
294
00:20:41,283 --> 00:20:43,243
A city called Bariloche.
295
00:20:44,411 --> 00:20:46,496
It's in the mountains.
In the limit with Chile.
296
00:20:48,165 --> 00:20:52,628
When I turned 18, I decided to move
to Buenos Aires, on my own.
297
00:20:55,005 --> 00:20:57,549
Back then, I was taking drugs
on the weekends.
298
00:20:59,843 --> 00:21:02,387
And then when I found Atman at that time,
299
00:21:02,471 --> 00:21:06,517
of course, it came with all
of these nice people that cared for me.
300
00:21:07,059 --> 00:21:10,312
They were much more focused
on spiritual things.
301
00:21:11,772 --> 00:21:13,774
It was just, like, such an upgrade.
302
00:21:15,776 --> 00:21:21,615
And I could see how much trauma,
and how much pain I had inside of me
303
00:21:21,698 --> 00:21:26,370
from my childhood,
that I had never really addressed.
304
00:21:28,330 --> 00:21:31,750
I wanted to be more involved
in the school.
305
00:21:32,417 --> 00:21:33,836
So I moved to Denmark.
306
00:21:35,337 --> 00:21:39,800
I lived in the ashram. I ate there, I did
everything there. I barely went outside.
307
00:21:41,635 --> 00:21:44,721
I really thought
that to have an initiation with him
308
00:21:45,305 --> 00:21:46,640
that it would help me.
309
00:21:46,723 --> 00:21:51,228
I thought it was, like, the next step
I had to take in order to evolve.
310
00:21:59,027 --> 00:22:02,322
Before you go there,
basically, you will drink water.
311
00:22:02,406 --> 00:22:06,159
Like two liters of water
or, like, a lot of water.
312
00:22:08,161 --> 00:22:11,039
You also need to bless the water
with a special formula
313
00:22:11,123 --> 00:22:13,959
that you are given by Grieg.
314
00:22:16,003 --> 00:22:19,464
And then you need
to shower before and shave.
315
00:22:20,174 --> 00:22:21,758
You have to shave completely.
316
00:22:22,759 --> 00:22:25,971
They say that if you do enough
yoga and meditation,
317
00:22:26,054 --> 00:22:28,515
so that you're in a really good
spiritual state,
318
00:22:29,183 --> 00:22:31,351
to prepare yourself sexually in some way,
319
00:22:31,435 --> 00:22:37,608
to be centered and grounded
and focused and ready to meet him.
320
00:22:43,614 --> 00:22:46,325
He came in the middle
of the night. I was sleeping.
321
00:22:47,075 --> 00:22:50,871
He touched with his finger
the sole of my feet, while I was sleeping,
322
00:22:50,954 --> 00:22:52,164
and I woke up like that.
323
00:22:52,497 --> 00:22:54,166
Then, like, "It's your turn."
324
00:22:57,628 --> 00:23:00,797
Everything had been leading up
to this, as this…
325
00:23:01,798 --> 00:23:03,425
monumental event.
326
00:23:06,136 --> 00:23:10,349
But this repeated thought
just kept coming into my head:
327
00:23:10,432 --> 00:23:13,769
"You're going up a mountain,
and Shiva's at the top."
328
00:23:14,228 --> 00:23:17,272
"You're going up a mountain,
and Shiva's at the top."
329
00:23:20,359 --> 00:23:24,905
I don't remember much about the sex.
I was very out of my body.
330
00:23:24,988 --> 00:23:27,658
Very disorientated and frozen.
331
00:23:28,867 --> 00:23:31,286
And even in the memory
I've blocked a lot of it out,
332
00:23:31,370 --> 00:23:32,621
which is convenient.
333
00:23:33,997 --> 00:23:37,793
But, yeah, it was a long process.
334
00:23:39,211 --> 00:23:41,421
Could have been two hours in total.
335
00:23:43,257 --> 00:23:46,218
Yeah, you start doing one of the positions
336
00:23:46,301 --> 00:23:48,220
which I think they come from Kama Sutra.
337
00:23:48,303 --> 00:23:52,099
So besides learning the postures, you also
learn how to move from one to another
338
00:23:52,683 --> 00:23:56,353
in a graceful way, so that
you will still remain, you know…
339
00:23:57,062 --> 00:23:58,480
in penetration somehow.
340
00:24:06,071 --> 00:24:09,116
I felt… It just came in,
"I don't want to do this."
341
00:24:12,202 --> 00:24:14,413
And then, almost immediately,
342
00:24:14,496 --> 00:24:16,790
another voice came in,
343
00:24:16,874 --> 00:24:18,917
"You're being superficial.
344
00:24:19,001 --> 00:24:21,879
You're being shallow,
you need to transfigure him."
345
00:24:23,755 --> 00:24:25,090
Transfiguration.
346
00:24:25,924 --> 00:24:27,551
The doctrine of the school.
347
00:24:28,427 --> 00:24:30,095
They say, with the tantra course,
348
00:24:32,139 --> 00:24:34,975
"Don't focus on the physical,
don't be superficial.
349
00:24:35,475 --> 00:24:37,019
It's not a spiritual attitude."
350
00:24:38,896 --> 00:24:40,772
And did you transfigure him?
351
00:24:42,149 --> 00:24:43,275
Yes.
352
00:25:00,417 --> 00:25:03,253
The idea is that
you could look at a person
353
00:25:03,337 --> 00:25:06,340
and really, genuinely,
354
00:25:06,423 --> 00:25:10,177
the shape of their body
would start to change,
355
00:25:10,260 --> 00:25:12,721
and would look different.
356
00:25:22,064 --> 00:25:25,567
When you're transfiguring your lover
357
00:25:25,651 --> 00:25:30,280
into the Shiva and the great man
that he can be, he will become them.
358
00:25:35,077 --> 00:25:38,205
So you have to have
a lot of transfiguration.
359
00:25:38,288 --> 00:25:40,666
Be able to see beyond what's there.
360
00:25:41,333 --> 00:25:43,794
Because otherwise, yeah, it's an old man.
361
00:25:43,877 --> 00:25:46,213
Like, why would you wanna
be with him, you know?
362
00:25:49,842 --> 00:25:52,261
But if you can see it as Shiva,
363
00:25:52,344 --> 00:25:56,431
the spiritual master
that's gonna help you evolve spiritually,
364
00:25:57,015 --> 00:25:58,892
then, okay, that's a different thing.
365
00:26:01,186 --> 00:26:05,148
I just knew I really, really didn't
wanna go through with the initiation.
366
00:26:05,941 --> 00:26:08,569
And then they said,
"You need to write to him and tell him."
367
00:26:09,611 --> 00:26:12,447
And I said that I needed
to work through my own demons.
368
00:26:12,865 --> 00:26:14,700
But I really hoped
that he could support me,
369
00:26:14,783 --> 00:26:16,243
if he was my master,
370
00:26:16,326 --> 00:26:20,706
through the yoga practices
and the meditations.
371
00:26:21,373 --> 00:26:23,417
And he wrote back to me full of…
372
00:26:24,418 --> 00:26:26,253
it was like he was yelling on the page.
373
00:26:26,336 --> 00:26:29,631
You could feel the anger and the heat
and the rage through the pen.
374
00:26:29,715 --> 00:26:33,552
It was just capital letters in this,
like, red fountain pen.
375
00:26:33,635 --> 00:26:35,304
And he said, "You lie!"
376
00:26:36,722 --> 00:26:38,724
And then, I was like,
"But how am I lying?
377
00:26:38,807 --> 00:26:40,225
Like, that's my feeling."
378
00:26:40,684 --> 00:26:44,354
"You lie because you have a big ego,
and a great bad will!"
379
00:26:45,814 --> 00:26:47,983
And he said on this note that…
380
00:26:49,193 --> 00:26:52,571
"Only you have this response
because you are manipulated by demons
381
00:26:52,654 --> 00:26:55,240
who don't want you
to receive divine power.
382
00:26:55,741 --> 00:26:59,328
And for all the love
that I manifest towards you,
383
00:26:59,411 --> 00:27:04,458
your reaction is bizarre,
morbid, sickly, perverted,
384
00:27:04,541 --> 00:27:08,712
completely lacking any good will,
or any aspiration to know God.
385
00:27:09,338 --> 00:27:11,840
Do you feel empathy now? Answer me!"
386
00:27:11,924 --> 00:27:14,426
Like, it was like he was yelling at me.
387
00:27:14,968 --> 00:27:15,969
He said…
388
00:27:16,637 --> 00:27:18,263
"The initiation will…
389
00:27:19,890 --> 00:27:21,767
exorcise your demons."
390
00:27:22,476 --> 00:27:24,269
As in, like, exorcism.
391
00:27:24,353 --> 00:27:26,939
And they said,
"You've been summoned to see him tonight."
392
00:27:27,022 --> 00:27:29,691
When they gave me this letter.
Like, "He wants to see you tonight.
393
00:27:29,775 --> 00:27:31,151
You've been summoned to him."
394
00:27:31,527 --> 00:27:33,028
And I went down to the meditation room.
395
00:27:33,111 --> 00:27:35,739
There's a meditation room
in the basement, where it's silent.
396
00:27:35,822 --> 00:27:38,867
And I went and sat in there because
I knew no one could talk to me in there.
397
00:27:38,951 --> 00:27:40,536
And I prayed.
398
00:27:42,329 --> 00:27:43,747
I prayed to my nana.
399
00:27:44,414 --> 00:27:46,917
I said, "Nana, just please,
just give me a sign…
400
00:27:48,168 --> 00:27:49,670
what I should do.
401
00:27:49,753 --> 00:27:51,713
Just give me a sign."
402
00:27:52,464 --> 00:27:55,092
And that was when I first
had the thought, like,
403
00:27:55,175 --> 00:27:56,510
maybe I could leave.
404
00:27:57,386 --> 00:27:59,847
Before that, like,
that thought was too crazy.
405
00:27:59,930 --> 00:28:02,474
Like, I wouldn't have thought to do that.
406
00:28:04,101 --> 00:28:06,728
I mean, there was a big fence
with a locked gate.
407
00:28:07,521 --> 00:28:09,815
They had all of my belongings,
they had my phone.
408
00:28:11,108 --> 00:28:12,192
They had my wallet.
409
00:28:12,901 --> 00:28:16,613
I had no way of speaking the language,
I didn't know where I was.
410
00:28:20,617 --> 00:28:23,161
Nothing felt real anymore,
and I actually thought I was going crazy.
411
00:28:23,245 --> 00:28:26,373
I thought maybe
I was in a state of psychosis.
412
00:28:29,126 --> 00:28:32,588
I didn't know what world I lived in.
I couldn't trust myself.
413
00:28:33,463 --> 00:28:35,215
But I also couldn't trust them.
414
00:28:36,884 --> 00:28:39,303
"No, this is wrong. This is wrong."
415
00:28:39,845 --> 00:28:42,514
In that moment, something snapped.
416
00:28:42,890 --> 00:28:45,893
"I need to go.
I need to get out of here, right now."
417
00:28:50,439 --> 00:28:52,733
Before I was allowed to leave
418
00:28:52,816 --> 00:28:57,404
they made me write
this multi-page statement,
419
00:28:57,821 --> 00:29:02,492
that you have to copy out
in your own handwriting, word for word.
420
00:29:02,576 --> 00:29:05,037
And then you have to submit it to them
to crosscheck it
421
00:29:05,120 --> 00:29:08,457
to make sure that you've included
everything in it, and that it's correct.
422
00:29:09,124 --> 00:29:10,375
And then they said,
423
00:29:10,459 --> 00:29:14,171
"Oh yeah, we need to get a video of you
reading out this statement."
424
00:29:14,254 --> 00:29:17,424
And I wasn't about to resist or object
to any instructions at this point.
425
00:29:17,508 --> 00:29:18,967
I just wanted to get out.
426
00:29:20,886 --> 00:29:25,641
During my meeting with Grieg,
everything went on normally, naturally,
427
00:29:25,724 --> 00:29:27,184
and with much common sense,
428
00:29:27,267 --> 00:29:29,978
so that I cannot complain of anything
429
00:29:30,062 --> 00:29:33,565
that throughout the meeting with Grieg
may have traumatized me.
430
00:29:33,649 --> 00:29:37,069
- It was like a legal document.
- I specify the fact…
431
00:29:37,152 --> 00:29:40,197
I had to read it on camera
and I remember just thinking in my head,
432
00:29:40,280 --> 00:29:42,157
"They're gonna use this
against me one day."
433
00:29:42,241 --> 00:29:47,371
I specify the fact that there was nothing
that happened against my will,
434
00:29:47,454 --> 00:29:49,206
and I have not been raped.
435
00:29:49,957 --> 00:29:55,754
Neither forced, nor aggressed,
or blackmailed, or hypnotized…
436
00:29:56,171 --> 00:30:03,095
…or beaten, or cursed, or humiliated,
or tortured, or offended, or locked up.
437
00:30:03,470 --> 00:30:05,138
Something really legal sounding
438
00:30:05,222 --> 00:30:10,602
to say that nothing happened to me here,
and if I say anything to the contrary,
439
00:30:10,686 --> 00:30:12,104
this proves that I'm lying.
440
00:30:12,479 --> 00:30:16,483
This final declaration of mine
has been signed by me personally,
441
00:30:16,567 --> 00:30:18,527
in the presence of two witnesses
442
00:30:18,610 --> 00:30:21,738
that guarantee
that I was in a normal state of mind
443
00:30:21,822 --> 00:30:23,949
when I finalized and signed it.
444
00:30:24,032 --> 00:30:26,994
Doing that
gave them permission to let me go.
445
00:30:27,077 --> 00:30:29,246
Signed, Ashleigh Freckleton.
446
00:30:35,627 --> 00:30:37,754
The driver said,
"Where do you wanna be taken to?"
447
00:30:37,838 --> 00:30:40,883
I said, "Just take me to the cheapest
hotel you can find in the city."
448
00:30:42,426 --> 00:30:44,636
"This can't be real,
it has to be a nightmare.
449
00:30:45,846 --> 00:30:47,848
How do I wake up from this?"
450
00:30:54,271 --> 00:30:57,983
In France,
we have special measures in place
451
00:30:58,066 --> 00:31:01,737
for fighting against crimes in cults.
452
00:31:03,822 --> 00:31:06,408
In fact, this notion of "emprise mentale"
or psychological control
453
00:31:06,491 --> 00:31:09,077
was developed to apply to cult crimes.
454
00:31:09,161 --> 00:31:12,706
This is something very unique to France.
455
00:31:14,666 --> 00:31:17,836
An abuse of weakness is taking advantage
of someone's vulnerability.
456
00:31:18,629 --> 00:31:22,174
We're not talking about someone
who is old or ill,
457
00:31:22,549 --> 00:31:26,011
but this person has been
placed under psychological control.
458
00:31:28,388 --> 00:31:31,725
Little by little,
through the use of techniques,
459
00:31:31,808 --> 00:31:36,813
psychological control
erodes the victim's free will.
460
00:31:39,566 --> 00:31:42,069
The person loses their free will,
461
00:31:42,152 --> 00:31:45,864
and does things
that they wouldn't normally do.
462
00:31:55,791 --> 00:31:58,669
After the initiation
with the spiritual guide,
463
00:31:59,336 --> 00:32:01,880
I was exhausted, disoriented.
464
00:32:03,173 --> 00:32:05,133
I felt really shaky.
465
00:32:05,551 --> 00:32:08,178
And I think I was even physically shaking.
466
00:32:09,388 --> 00:32:13,809
But then one of the coordinator women,
she approached me,
467
00:32:14,309 --> 00:32:17,938
she said, "I'm part of a very special
women's integration.
468
00:32:18,021 --> 00:32:19,773
It's all women.
469
00:32:19,857 --> 00:32:23,694
But it's in a different location,
we've got a swimming pool,
470
00:32:23,777 --> 00:32:25,737
it's near a really nice city.
471
00:32:26,280 --> 00:32:29,408
And people call it
the Garden of Miracles."
472
00:32:32,661 --> 00:32:38,250
And then she said, "Now that you know
these things that most people don't know,
473
00:32:38,667 --> 00:32:40,502
you have a responsibility.
474
00:32:41,670 --> 00:32:45,883
It's your responsibility
to not lower your consciousness,
475
00:32:45,966 --> 00:32:50,095
and go back to doing things
the way that you did them
476
00:32:50,179 --> 00:32:51,471
when you didn't know."
477
00:32:53,974 --> 00:32:57,644
She asked me if I was interested,
and I said, "Yes."
478
00:33:00,230 --> 00:33:05,861
And so we went together
to the bus stop in Paris.
479
00:33:07,237 --> 00:33:12,492
It was my first chance to sleep for,
like, almost 42 hours probably.
480
00:33:15,412 --> 00:33:20,292
Then when we got to Prague,
we were taken to a suburban house,
481
00:33:21,460 --> 00:33:23,795
on the main line heading out of Prague.
482
00:33:28,050 --> 00:33:33,263
They sat me down and they explained to me
what would be happening in the house.
483
00:33:34,264 --> 00:33:38,185
We would do erotic rituals in the morning.
484
00:33:41,188 --> 00:33:45,943
And then after that
you had to do a four-hour shift,
485
00:33:46,026 --> 00:33:48,737
six days a week, on a cam-girl site.
486
00:33:56,787 --> 00:33:59,331
The way they spoke about it is that,
487
00:33:59,414 --> 00:34:02,626
because we were doing
the rituals in the morning,
488
00:34:02,709 --> 00:34:07,840
that energy from the rituals
was going to amplify our power
489
00:34:08,465 --> 00:34:13,262
and our magnetism,
in karma yoga and on the site.
490
00:34:13,719 --> 00:34:17,933
And we were going to be able
to transmit that energy
491
00:34:18,016 --> 00:34:21,853
to the people watching us
and to the paying clients.
492
00:34:21,937 --> 00:34:25,983
So that then these men could hopefully
start to connect to an energy
493
00:34:26,065 --> 00:34:29,444
beyond the base sexual energy.
494
00:34:31,321 --> 00:34:34,199
The idea of karma yoga
is that it's selfless service,
495
00:34:34,283 --> 00:34:38,829
and you're offering for a greater purpose.
496
00:34:41,665 --> 00:34:45,043
We were going to be
saving their souls, in a way.
497
00:34:53,886 --> 00:34:57,054
So, you walked down
the stairs to the basement,
498
00:34:57,139 --> 00:34:59,600
and if you went round to the right
499
00:34:59,683 --> 00:35:02,811
there was the "Hot and Wet channel" room.
500
00:35:04,104 --> 00:35:08,567
Tiny room, airless, hot, no windows.
501
00:35:11,278 --> 00:35:12,821
So you logged on.
502
00:35:12,905 --> 00:35:16,783
And then you had your page
and your chat up
503
00:35:16,867 --> 00:35:20,871
where you saw
the image of yourself being streamed.
504
00:35:22,039 --> 00:35:24,082
Sometimes, the guys would ask you,
505
00:35:24,166 --> 00:35:26,251
"What did you do yesterday evening?"
506
00:35:26,335 --> 00:35:30,047
And we were told,
"Pretend that you have a normal life.
507
00:35:30,130 --> 00:35:32,716
Tell them that you went out
for drinks with your friends.
508
00:35:32,799 --> 00:35:34,718
You went home and cooked pasta."
509
00:35:36,720 --> 00:35:38,222
We were told to be careful.
510
00:35:39,223 --> 00:35:41,683
We got told
there were people spying on us,
511
00:35:41,767 --> 00:35:43,644
who would try and trip us up.
512
00:35:44,436 --> 00:35:47,940
They will ask, "Do you practice yoga?"
513
00:35:48,023 --> 00:35:50,651
And were out to blow our cover.
514
00:35:52,778 --> 00:35:53,946
In those six months,
515
00:35:54,029 --> 00:35:57,324
I was never paid
for any of the work I did.
516
00:36:00,244 --> 00:36:04,164
There was this notion that when I looked
at myself on the camera…
517
00:36:04,998 --> 00:36:09,795
I was seeing past the cheap outfits.
518
00:36:11,338 --> 00:36:16,093
And as I had done many times before,
over the past few years,
519
00:36:16,176 --> 00:36:20,472
looking at my body
and seeing something divine.
520
00:36:26,770 --> 00:36:28,647
So much is at stake
521
00:36:29,314 --> 00:36:31,650
if the answer to the question
which has always been,
522
00:36:31,733 --> 00:36:33,944
"Yes, yes, yes. I believe. I trust."
523
00:36:34,361 --> 00:36:37,406
And then you get to a point
where it's a "maybe" or a "no".
524
00:36:38,699 --> 00:36:43,120
There's so much of your life,
525
00:36:43,203 --> 00:36:46,206
your internal belief system,
your relationships.
526
00:36:48,000 --> 00:36:52,087
Just everything, you stand to lose
as far as you can perceive,
527
00:36:52,171 --> 00:36:53,213
everything.
528
00:36:53,297 --> 00:36:55,048
Including your own…
529
00:36:56,258 --> 00:36:58,468
spiritual future or salvation.
530
00:37:15,485 --> 00:37:18,238
I booked the next flight
that I could get, back to Australia.
531
00:37:20,157 --> 00:37:23,911
I just wanted to be at home with Mum
and Dad, I just wanted to catch my breath.
532
00:37:25,746 --> 00:37:29,082
I didn't work for about a month,
I just tried to figure out what happened.
533
00:37:29,166 --> 00:37:31,668
Just tried to unpack it.
I just was so confused.
534
00:37:35,088 --> 00:37:37,174
Maybe a few months after I got home,
535
00:37:38,300 --> 00:37:41,887
I got really drunk at a party.
536
00:37:41,970 --> 00:37:43,096
Like, really drunk.
537
00:37:43,180 --> 00:37:45,599
And I think I just
word-vomited to a friend.
538
00:37:45,974 --> 00:37:47,351
I ended up just telling him.
539
00:37:47,935 --> 00:37:50,103
When I was telling him
about what had happened,
540
00:37:50,187 --> 00:37:53,440
I just saw the look
on his face of just shock.
541
00:37:53,524 --> 00:37:54,983
And just, he's like…
542
00:37:55,692 --> 00:37:58,529
"This is really bad.
Like, this is really, really bad."
543
00:37:59,279 --> 00:38:02,241
That was when I sort of started,
I think, to talk more about it.
544
00:38:04,409 --> 00:38:06,119
I get a call from Ashleigh,
545
00:38:07,454 --> 00:38:09,665
basically explaining why she left.
546
00:38:11,542 --> 00:38:13,669
I felt such shame and guilt.
547
00:38:18,715 --> 00:38:21,385
'Cause immediately,
I'm thinking to myself,
548
00:38:21,468 --> 00:38:24,388
"Here's Ashleigh,
barely involved with the school.
549
00:38:24,930 --> 00:38:28,392
If a woman with that level
of commitment to the school
550
00:38:28,475 --> 00:38:32,187
is getting brought in
to meet the spiritual guide,
551
00:38:32,271 --> 00:38:35,190
then, obviously, you know, my partners,
552
00:38:35,274 --> 00:38:37,526
practically all the women of the school
553
00:38:38,026 --> 00:38:40,237
have probably gone
and had this experience, too.
554
00:38:41,697 --> 00:38:44,575
This is so sick. These poor women.
555
00:38:47,578 --> 00:38:49,580
Who on Earth is this guy?"
556
00:39:19,735 --> 00:39:24,656
I was a student in university
when the scandal broke, back in 2004.
557
00:39:27,576 --> 00:39:30,454
I remember seeing all those images on TV,
558
00:39:30,537 --> 00:39:32,706
about Gregorian Bivolaru.
559
00:39:35,375 --> 00:39:38,879
More recently, I became
an investigative reporter.
560
00:39:41,715 --> 00:39:44,801
I started looking more into this group.
561
00:39:50,974 --> 00:39:54,019
These newspapers cover
a very large period of time
562
00:39:54,102 --> 00:39:57,606
starting from the early '90s
563
00:39:57,689 --> 00:40:01,485
until 2004, when the scandal really broke.
564
00:40:04,154 --> 00:40:08,450
I really was surprised
that this was still going on.
565
00:40:10,285 --> 00:40:12,913
Because this is an old story in Romania.
566
00:40:13,580 --> 00:40:16,041
It has been a story for 30 years now.
567
00:40:29,930 --> 00:40:32,808
Everybody in Romania knows
who Gregorian Bivolaru was.
568
00:40:32,891 --> 00:40:35,018
He was basically a household name.