intelligence
Espionage trial – BND employee denies allegations
The defendants are said to have given secret documents and information from the BND to the Russian domestic secret service FSB (symbolic image). photo
© Wolfgang Kumm/dpa
A BND employee is said to have passed on state secrets to Russia. His alleged accomplice testified extensively. Now the main defendant is also breaking his silence.
The indictment accuses the employee of Federal Intelligence Service (BND) accused of treason in a particularly serious case: In the middle of the Ukraine war, Carsten L. is said to have given state secrets to Russia and has therefore been standing before the Berlin Court of Appeal since last December. Today the 53-year-old broke his silence – and denied the allegations.
His defense attorney Johannes Eisenberg explained on behalf of the BND employee during the trial: “The defendant did not want to and did not betray the BND.” He did not commit any breach of duty.
Together with the Russian-born businessman Arthur E. (33), Carsten L. is said to have given secret documents and information from the German foreign intelligence service to the Russian domestic intelligence service FSB in September and October 2022. According to the indictment, they received an “agent’s wage” of 450,000 euros or 400,000 euros. The two Germans are in custody.
Statement around four months after the trial began
In January and February, Arthur E. presented his view comprehensively and dazzlingly to the 6th Criminal Senate on the case, which is one of the most spectacular espionage cases of recent years. Around four months after the trial began, Carsten L. commented on this for the first time on the 19th day of the trial. The BND employee initially denied the allegations and descriptions of the co-defendant through his defense attorney.
At the times mentioned there were no meetings at which secret documents were handed over. The money that was seized from him in a safe deposit box was the private savings of Carsten L. and his wife, the statement said.
Impressed by contacts at meetings in the beer garden
The BND employee then answered questions from presiding judge Detlev Schmidt for hours. The initial focus was on how Carsten L. and Arthur E. came into contact. According to the 53-year-old, the two men met through a mutual acquaintance at a meeting at the beginning of August 2022 in a beer garden in Weilheim, Upper Bavaria. Initially it was about possible participation in an ore mining project by Arthur E. in Africa.
According to Carsten L., these transactions ultimately seemed too windy – but the former soldier’s travel activity seemed interesting to him. “I was impressed by his contacts,” he told the court. “At some point I said you were the right man for us,” said the defendant. “It’s exactly the clientele we’re looking for.” According to L., the businessman was interested in working as a source for the BND – this is what E. himself described in court.
After several meetings of a more private nature, according to the defendant’s descriptions, a meeting finally followed in which a BND liaison officer took part. The businessman should be examined more closely before he becomes active as an “NDV” (intelligence liaison). Carsten L explained that it was only that evening that he discovered that the businessman also had good connections in Russia. After a conversation in a bar, they went to a casino and then to a brothel. “It’s not called initiation for nothing,” the BND employee explained the procedure.
The defendant hoped to obtain information about embassy employees
Arthur E. finally received approval as “NDV” at the beginning of October 2022 and also traveled to Moscow. According to his own statements, L. hoped to obtain information about employees of Western embassies, especially the German embassy, who were supposed to be on the payroll of Russian secret services. His client initiated the recruitment of E., said defense attorney Eisenberg. However, the lawyer emphasized that he left the check on the businessman to the responsible employees in the BND.
From Eisenberg’s point of view, especially based on his client’s statement, there are no reasons to keep him in custody any longer. The court still has to decide on a corresponding application. This is what the next day of the hearing on Thursday will be about, among other things. However, the Federal Prosecutor’s Office should first have the opportunity to question Carsten L. about his statements.