'I found myself at the centre of a trafficking ring'

An Oxfordshire woman has said she found herself at the centre of an international trafficking and sexual exploitation ring within two years of joining a yoga centre.

Tutor Miranda said she joined the Tara Yoga Centre near Old Street in London in 2017.

The centre has other branches in Oxford's Cowley Road and Plymouth and is an affiliate of the Atman federation, which promotes the teachings of convicted sex offender Gregorian Bivolaru.

Miranda said she was persuaded to work as a webcammer for a live online pornography business and took part in an initiation involving prolonged sexual intercourse as part of what she now believes is a cult.

Bivolaru was charged in France in November 2023 with human trafficking, organised kidnapping, rape and the French criminal offence of organised abuse of weakness by a sect.

He is also wanted in Finland on aggravated human trafficking charges.

Miranda said through a series of encounters with different parts of the federation's international movement, she took part in sexualised rituals.

She said she was tricked into travelling to a villa near Prague, where she was then persuaded to work as a webcammer for an online pornography business for six months.

She said she was also driven through Paris blindfolded to meet Bivolaru at a secret location.

She believed that by going through a sexual "initiation" rite with him, she might achieve a spiritual breakthrough.

Her experiences form part of a new BBC Sounds and Radio 4 podcast World of Secrets: The Bad Guru, which was released on Monday.

"I wanted to believe that whatever they were doing, even if it seemed gross to me, and inappropriate and hyper-sexualised, was for some spiritual reason that I couldn't yet understand," Miranda said.

"The only thing I can do now is to speak about this and to put my reputation and everything else on the line. But I want truth and justice and for people to not be hurt, for things to be different in the future."

'Presenter Cat McShane spoke to women who became involved with the movement in a number of ways, including through affiliated schools.

"The women I met are intelligent women, who quite unremarkably joined a yoga class. But what happened to them is anything but unremarkable," the podcast's presenter, Ms McShane, said.

"Over the last four years, I've heard some deeply worrying accounts of coercion and sexual exploitation for profit, after they became involved with one of the affiliates of the Atman federation. It is important that these stories are heard."

The Tara Yoga Centre has also run classes in Cambridge, Birmingham, Manchester, Leeds, Leicester, Burton-on-Trent and Woking.

The centre and the Atman federation both told the BBC that they unequivocally condemn all forms of abuse.

Both said they have been advised not to comment further due to legal proceedings.

The Atman federation told the BBC it operates entirely autonomously of all its member schools.

BBC Studios approached Gregorian Bivolaru through his lawyer for comment but did not receive a response.

Gregorian Bivolaru remains presumed innocent of the charges in France.

After the series was first released Atman issued a statement saying that Gregorian Bivolaru is a victim of prejudice and unfounded allegations and that they never have and never will condone any teachings of sexualised behaviour within the Atman Federation.

Misa, a yoga organisation associated with Bivolaru, strongly defended him.

It said he has been the victim of political persecution and false allegations and that his teachings are followed by more than 40,000 people around the world.

It said in the case of his conviction for a sex offence, the victim now claims she was coerced by the Romanian police into making a false statement.

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