Kremlin-linked operatives scramble to stop extradition of mercenary accused of plotting coup

Exclusive: Inside a Russian bid to free Horaiu Potra, a mercenary held in Dubai accused of conspiring to overthrow constitutional order' in Romania

Russian figures close to the Kremlin are mounting a last-minute attempt to halt the extradition from Dubai of a Romanian-French mercenary wanted in Romania for plotting a coup, the Guardian can reveal.

Horaiu Potra, a shadowy former French Foreign Legionnaire, was arrested at Dubai airport on 24 September alongside his son and nephew as they prepared to board a flight to Moscow. Romanian investigators had accused the men of conspiring with Potra's ally, the far-right politician Clin Georgescu, to overthrow the constitutional order".