Federal Prosecutor’s Office charges: Was a BND employee spying for China?

Officially he worked for a foundation, but spied for the BND. Now, according to information from ARD capital studios The 75-year-old was charged with allegedly spying on behalf of China.

Klaus L. had just returned from a stay in Italy when the police stood in front of his apartment door and arrested him. The federal prosecutor accuses L. of spying for the Chinese secret service and, according to information from ARD capital studios charges have now been brought before the Munich Higher Regional Court for acting as a secret service agent.

On the way to Macau

The case is complicated: L. spied not only for the Chinese, but for decades also for the German Federal Intelligence Service (BND). That learned that ARD capital studio from security circles. Particularly spicy: L. led a double life. A public one as an employee of the CSU-related Hanns Seidel Foundation and a secret one as an informant for the BND. The ARD capital studio had exposed the case in June of last year after federal prosecutors searched L’s house.

On November 23, 2019, the investigators were at L.’s door and presented a search warrant. L. and his wife were just on their way to the Munich airport. It was no coincidence that the investigators struck that morning: According to information from the ARD capital studios the couple wanted to travel from Munich to Macau to meet their Chinese commanding officers there. The investigators turned the house upside down, searched the luggage and confiscated loads of data carriers and computers.

The fact that the now 75-year-old is only now being charged makes it clear how difficult the case is. Because L. was spying for the Chinese, he should not have denied the investigators. As the ARD capital studio found out, he rather claimed to have reported his contacts with the Chinese to the BND – at least initially.

50 years in the service of the BND

L.’s life was closely linked to the BND for many years. For no less than 50 years, L. was listed as an “intelligence association” by the German foreign intelligence service. That is, L. supplied the BND with information and was paid for it.

L. went in and out of Pullach near Munich, where the BND headquarters was located until a few years ago. He had excellent contacts right up to the BND management level. The professional contacts that L. made in the course of his professional career were obviously of great value to the service.

Contacts through foundation work

According to information from ARD capital studios L. started at the CSU-affiliated Hanns Seidel Foundation in the early 1980s. His job enabled him to do numerous, sometimes longer, official stays abroad, sometimes as a guest lecturer, for example in the former Soviet Union and later in Russia, the Balkans, South Africa and South Asia.

When L. retired, he headed the international security policy department of the foundation. After that ARD capital studio had reported on the case for the first time, the foundation distanced itself and emphasized that it had “no knowledge” of the events.

Espionage even after retirement

For L., however, his work for the BND did not end with his retirement. To ARD-Rather, research was continued by other means. L. became director of a specially founded “Institute for Transnational Studies”, a kind of think tank that he ran from his house in Landshut, but above all in a property in South Tyrol that also had seminar rooms.

The BND is said to have always sat at the table at the events with international speakers and “skimmed off” the guests, as they say. The BND does not want to answer whether the institute was a cover institution of the service. Otherwise, the service does not want to give any information about which connections L. had with the BND. He merely points out that he does not comment on operational issues.

According to information from ARD capital studios to his first contact with the Chinese secret service when L. was at Tongji University in Shanghai. L. was about to retire at the time. L. told the investigators that he had reported the recruitment attempt to the BND; the service even encouraged him to get involved. According to the motto: let’s see what they want.

Did China know about the connections with the BND?

Over time, L. seems to have said nothing more about his contacts with the Chinese. After all, his Chinese command officers equipped him with technology to transmit encrypted information. What value that had and what L. delivered to the Chinese is likely to be controversial and the subject of negotiation before the Munich Higher Regional Court.

It is unclear whether the Chinese service knew about L’s links to the BND. He is said to have not revealed any BND internals. Originally the Chinese are said to have intended to place L. at the Uighur World Congress, which has its seat in Munich. But he should not have let himself into that.

Urgently suspect

In addition, the court will deal with what L. received from the Chinese for his work. According to information from ARD capital studios it was mainly about travel expenses and a single fee. How the court evaluates the L. case remains to be seen.

The investigators apparently found it difficult after L. and his China contacts were noticed by the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution. At least a long time passed before the indictment could be brought. The investigators justify the fact that L. should now be in custody by stating that he is an urgent suspect and that there is a risk of escape.

A network that appealed to China

In many ways the case is exemplary of the actions of the Chinese secret service: L. had a considerable professional, international network that was undoubtedly of interest to the Chinese. At the same time, he was at the end of his professional career, but was still full of energy, which can make people receptive to recruitment attempts.

In security circles, it is said that human sources in politics, culture, business and science, in addition to cyber attacks, are still part of the instruments of the Chinese secret service. Often those affected are initially not even clear what it is about. And sometimes it’s not about money at all, but much more about attention and appreciation. With Klaus L. it was possibly also about that. There is no question, however, that he knew who he was dealing with.