MOSCOW, May 3. /TASS/. Russian investigators are looking into the illegal activities of the "Falun Dafa spiritual and physical development center" - a division of the Falun Dafa (Falun Gong) sect - deemed undesirable in Russia, the Investigative Committee press office told TASS.

Law enforcement agencies told TASS that four members of the organization were detained after raids in Moscow.

According to investigators, between 2020 and 2023, an unnamed woman, in cooperation with a group of other people, opened up the Falun Dafa center in Moscow. The organization disseminated literature of various undesirable organizations, including ‘Zhuan Falun’ by Falun Gong founder Li Hongzhi, deemed extremist material in Russia.

The Falun Gong sect was established in 1992 in China by Li Hongzhi, a gymnastics coach. After the sect gained several million followers, he attempted to stage a coup d’etat in China. The attempt was thwarted, and Li Hongzhi fled to the US. In 2020, seven foreign Falun Gong structures were deemed undesirable in Russia.