BERLIN. The second arrest was made yesterday. german policein spying for Russia at the headquarters of the German counterintelligence service BND, according to an official statement from the authorities yesterday.
According to Karlsruhe’s attorney general, the detainee is a German national “in respect of whom we have reasonable suspicions that he acted as a contact on behalf of an already arrested double agent,” the statement said. The prosecutor’s office plans, according to press reports, to prosecute the detainee for espionage.
In December last year, an employee of the BND federal intelligence service was arrested on suspicion of handing over top secret documents to the Russian special services. According to the German prosecutor’s office, the data that the detainee gave to his Russian “curators” contained state secrets. Spiegel magazine reported that the suspect worked for the BND, which dealt with top-secret materials about the war in Ukraine.
According to German press reports, the second arrested person is an accomplice of a double agent and was responsible for delivering classified materials to the Russians. The second suspect was arrested Sunday at Munich International Airport on his way back from the US. The detainee is not an employee of the BND, and cooperation with the American FBI played a decisive role in his search and detention.
And in other countries
Last month, Norwegian authorities announced the arrest of a man who claimed to be a university student from Brazil and supplied Russian intelligence agencies with information about confidential technological research at Norwegian universities. In late November, Swedish counterintelligence agencies raided and arrested a Russian couple accused of espionage. In mid-December, Austrian police arrested a Greek resident of Vienna, who was detained on suspicion of spying for Russia. In 2014, German justice sentenced a German citizen to eight years in prison for passing classified information to the American CIA.
More than a dozen Russian spies, FSB agents and holders of diplomatic passports have been arrested in Germany in recent years and deported without criminal charges thanks to diplomatic immunity. It is expected that the recent arrests, according to experts, will push Russia to intensify its efforts to infiltrate the European intelligence services.
Source: Kathimerini
Anna White is a journalist at 247 News Reel, where she writes on world news and current events. She is known for her insightful analysis and compelling storytelling. Anna’s articles have been widely read and shared, earning her a reputation as a talented and respected journalist. She delivers in-depth and accurate understanding of the world’s most pressing issues.