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Global investigations from the BBC. Uncovering stories around the world and telling them, episode by episode, with gripping storytelling. Delve into a World of Secrets.

Latest season: The Killing Call. The murder of Indian music star Sidhu Moose Wala sent shock waves around the world. He was one of India’s biggest stars - a rebel who refused to be silenced. Sidhu Moose Wala was gunned down in rural Punjab, at the height of his success. Who wanted him killed? This is the hunt for answers in a murder that won’t be forgotten. A two-year-long investigation that exposes a tangled web of fame, power and vengeance and uncovers a criminal underworld that reaches far beyond India's borders.

The Hindi podcast version is available here: https://www.bbc.com/hindi/podcasts/p0lcbcc5

Also, previously on World of Secrets: Al Fayed: Predator at Harrods. Women accuse Mohamed Al Fayed of rape.

And: The Abercrombie Guys. Investigating sexual exploitation claims against the former CEO of fashion giant Abercrombie & Fitch.

World of Secrets

Miranda joins thousands of the guru Gregorian Bivolaru’s followers from around the world at a yoga festival in a Romanian seaside resort. It’s a two-week-long holiday and her food and accommodation is free. But is she being drawn into something darker? 

This episode contains explicit sexual content.

The Bad Guru: 2. The Technique

“I don't have my passport. I don't have my phone. I don't have my bank card… I have nothing.” Miranda is driven through Paris with her eyes covered to meet the guru Gregorian Bivolaru at a secret location. Why is her spiritual guide in hiding? 

This episode contains sexual content.

The Bad Guru: 3. The Transformation

The guru Gregorian Bivolaru comes to the door in a dressing gown and welcomes Miranda in. He is her spiritual master, but she feels physically repulsed by him. “Don’t be superficial,” she tells herself as she steps into his Paris apartment. 

This episode contains explicit sexual content and some strong language. 

Host: Cat McShane 
Producers: Emma Weatherill and Cat McShane 
Sound design: Melvin Rickarby 
Production Coordinator: Juliette Harvey
Unit Manager: Lucy Bannister 
Executive Producer: Innes Bowen 
Commissioning Editor: Dan Clarke 
Commissioning Executive: Tracy Williams

The Bad Guru: 4. The Guru

“I was admitting it was a sex cult,” says Miranda. She meets up with her mother Penny to tell her what she's really been up to. When she tells her story to students from the yoga school where her journey started, the guru Gregorian denounces her as a liar. 

This episode contains sexual content. 

Host: Cat McShane 
Producers: Emma Weatherill and Cat McShane 
Sound design: Melvin Rickarby
Production Coordinator: Juliette Harvey
Unit Manager: Lucy Bannister 
Executive Producer: Innes Bowen 
Commissioning Editor: Dan Clarke 
Commissioning Executive: Tracy Williams

The Bad Guru: 5. The Breakthrough

Miranda returns to Paris after some surprising news about the guru Gregorian Bivolaru. 

This episode contains sexual content, allegations of sexual exploitation and some strong language. 

Host: Cat McShane 
Producers: Emma Weatherill and Cat McShane 
Sound design: Melvin Rickarby
Production Coordinator: Juliette Harvey
Unit Manager: Lucy Bannister 
Executive Producer: Innes Bowen 
Commissioning Editor: Dan Clarke 
Commissioning Executive: Tracy Williams

The Bad Guru: 6. The Return

World of Secrets teams are working on new investigations. Now you’ve finished listening to The Bad Guru, we are preparing six more seasons. Also, we have updates on previous investigations, including The Abercrombie Guys and Al Fayed, Predator at Harrods. 

Follow or subscribe now, so you get all future seasons and episodes.

World of Secrets is the global investigations podcast from the BBC: Uncovering stories around the world and telling them, episode by episode, with gripping storytelling.

What’s happening next?

It was the biggest gold mine fraud of all time – a scam that devastated countless lives. But what really happened? Suzanne Wilton revisits the story that she just couldn’t let go of, to find answers about how the scam was perpetrated…and about the mysterious death of a geologist in the jungle. From the BBC World Service and CBC.

The Six Billion Dollar Gold Scam was first published in May 2024.

World of Secrets presents: The Six Billion Dollar Gold Scam

World of Secrets presents The Six Billion Dollar Gold Scam. Bre-X geologist Michael de Guzman is the man of the hour. He’s responsible for one of the biggest gold discoveries in the world, deep in the Indonesian jungle. It’s a find that sends Bre-X stock prices soaring to stratospheric heights. So his apparent death — a dramatic fall from a helicopter flying to the gold site — sends shockwaves around the world. Did he jump? Was he pushed? But the days following his death will prove even more shocking. 

Please note, this episode contains difficult subject matter, including references to suicide and death. The series has references to suicide and some graphic content. 

This podcast was first published in May 2024.

The Six Billion Dollar Gold Scam: 1. The fall

It’s gold fever. Estimates put the Bre-X discovery at four times the size of the biggest known gold deposit — and investors are trying to cash in. A small Canadian town is swept up in the gold rush. But others are asking questions, including a hedge fund manager who goes to extraordinary lengths to get inside the Indonesia gold site. 

Since this episode was recorded, John McBeth has sadly passed away. We are very grateful for his contribution to this story.

The Six Billion Dollar Gold Scam was first published in May 2024.

The Six Billion Dollar Gold Scam: 2. The believers

As the value of the Indonesian gold discovery skyrockets, it’s not just everyday investors who want in. Powerful players are drawn into the fight for the gold in Busang. But Bre-X, a small company, has only ever traded as a penny stock. Can it stand up to powerful rivals and play in the big leagues?

The Six Billion Dollar Gold Scam was first published in May 2024.

The Six Billion Dollar Gold Scam: 3. The battle for Busang

Many more women have made allegations of abuse and rape against Mohamed Al Fayed – including Margot, who was hired as his children’s nanny. We hear her story and find out about developments in the investigation since we published the first five episodes. Harrods says it is in the process of settling over 250 claims from women who say they were abused by its former owner.

Shaimaa Khalil speaks to series consultant Keaton Stone, Erica Gornall the director of Al Fayed, Predator at Harrods, and Hannah Price from the BBC News Investigations unit.

This episode contains graphic details of sexual assault, which some listeners may find distressing.

If you’ve been affected by any of the issues in this series, please contact support organisations in your own country. For a list of organisations in the UK that can provide support for survivors of sexual abuse, go to bbc.co.uk/actionline.

This episode was updated on 25 October 2024.

Al Fayed, Predator at Harrods: 6. The ripple effect

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