Exclusive
Status: 12/26/2022 12:22 p.m
Russia may have received secret information about the situation in Ukraine from a suspected BND spy. According to information from WDR and NDR the suspect may have been blackmailed.
After the arrest of an employee of the Federal Intelligence Service (BND) for alleged espionage, the extent of the suspected betrayal of secrets becomes clearer. According to information from WDR and NDR Carsten L. is said to have passed on secret assessments of the situation in Ukraine to Russia, among other things. Security circles also say that they are investigating the suspicion that the officer could have been blackmailed.
When asked, neither the Federal Public Prosecutor (GBA) nor the BND wanted to comment on this. Both referred to their previous press releases from Thursday. The exact circumstances of the alleged betrayal are currently being determined by the GBA. The BND had previously informed the Karlsruhe authorities about the suspicion of their own employees.
Delicate situation in view of the Ukraine war
The BND employee was arrested on Wednesday. The GBA accuses him of transmitting state secrets to Russia in 2022. According to Justice Minister Marco Buschmann, it is an “important blow against Russian espionage” – if the allegation is correct.
If the suspicion is actually confirmed, the case is particularly sensitive: Moscow would have placed a double agent with the foreign intelligence service during the Russian war of aggression. Such recruiting of foreign secret service agents is considered the supreme discipline of espionage, because the agents have to be “turned around” so to speak.
Warning from security authorities
In recent years, several people who had spied for Russia have been convicted in Germany. However, a double agent in the Federal Intelligence Service is rarely known – this happened most recently in 2014. A BND employee had informed the USA, among other things, of thousands of real names of German spies. He is said to have later offered his services to the Russians by e-mail.
German security authorities have been pointing out for years that Russia is becoming increasingly aggressive in this country in order to achieve its goals. After the attack on Ukraine in February, they warned of a further increase.
For example, the President of the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV), Thomas Haldenwang, declared in the spring that the positioning of Germany and its allies was of great interest to Moscow. After the arrest of the alleged double spy, BND President Bruno Kahl declared:
With Russia, on the other hand, we are dealing with an actor whose unscrupulousness and willingness to use violence we have to reckon with.
Suspected cases in several ministries
After the outbreak of war, for example, the Office for the Protection of the Constitution made ministries and authorities aware of the increased danger. In several ministries, according to information from WDR and NDR There are suspicions that officials may have fed in positions of Russia as so-called agents of influence. However, there are said to have been no searches or arrests, as is now the case with the BND.
In response to Russia’s brutal actions in Ukraine, the federal government had already asked 40 Russian secret service agents to leave Germany in the spring. Hundreds have had to return to their homes across Europe.
According to security circles, however, there are still a low three-digit number of Russian spies known by name in Germany alone. Most of them are officially accredited as diplomats. They are usually tolerated as long as they are not caught directly in espionage activities.
Alleged agents in other countries exposed
In the past few months, several suspected Russian agents have been uncovered in Europe. A suspected spy from the Russian military intelligence service GRU tried to do an internship at the International Criminal Court in the Netherlands under the false identity of a Brazilian.
In Sweden, the secret service arrested a Russian couple who had lived there for 20 years. Only a few days ago, a case in Austria became known. A Greek is suspected of having transmitted information from Austria in connection with Ukraine for the GRU.