secret services
Russia espionage at the BND: Suspected courier arrested
Entrance to the headquarters of the Federal Intelligence Service in Berlin. photo
© Christophe Gateau/dpa
In the middle of the Russian war against Ukraine, an employee of the German foreign intelligence service is said to have spied for Moscow. Now the case is widening.
It’s about treason and state secrets: In the affair about Russia espionage by an employee of the Federal Intelligence Service (BND), an alleged accomplice is now also in custody. The man is said to have brought secret information spied on by the BND employee to Russia and handed it over to a secret service there, the Federal Public Prosecutor said on Thursday in Karlsruhe. A spokeswoman for the authority did not comment on how much and which material is involved or how often the man traveled to Russia.
The accused Arthur E. is urgently suspected of being an accomplice in treason. He is a German citizen and not an employee of the BND foreign intelligence service itself. Officials from the Federal Criminal Police Office arrested him on Sunday when he arrived from the USA at Munich Airport.
BND employee Carsten L. was arrested in Berlin on December 21 on suspicion of treason. After the Russian attack on Ukraine last year, he is said to have passed on information he obtained in the course of his work to Russia. The federal prosecutor announced at the time that the information spied on was a state secret within the meaning of the Criminal Code. Federal Justice Minister Marco Buschmann (FDP) spoke of an important blow against Russian espionage if the suspicion was confirmed.
BND and FBI supported the investigation
The investigation into the alleged courier of the spied material was carried out in close cooperation with the BND and with the support of the US federal police FBI, the federal prosecutor said. On Monday, an investigating judge of the Federal Court of Justice ordered the execution of the pre-trial detention.
According to the Criminal Code, treason can be punished in particularly serious cases with a prison sentence of at least five years up to life imprisonment. According to the definition, this applies, for example, if the perpetrator has abused a responsible position that obliges him to protect state secrets.
Complicity means that if several people commit a crime together, everyone is punished as a perpetrator.
Big concern in politics
After the Carsten L. case was blown shortly before Christmas, German politicians became very concerned. Among other things, the debate focused on the role of espionage as a central weapon in Russia’s military strategy and the stability of the Federal Republic.
BND President Bruno Kahl announced in December that extensive internal investigations had been initiated immediately after the intelligence service had become aware of a possible suspected case within its own ranks. When they confirmed the suspicion, the Federal Public Prosecutor was called on immediately.
The BND is working closely and trustingly with the investigating authorities in order to thoroughly clarify the case, Kahl explained. At the same time, he emphasized that restraint and discretion are very important in this case. With Russia, on the other hand, we are dealing with an actor “whose unscrupulousness and willingness to use violence we have to reckon with,” added the BND president. Every detail of the process that was made public meant an advantage for this adversary in order to harm Germany.
The BND is Germany’s foreign intelligence service. He informs the Federal Government about developments of foreign and security policy importance. Around 6500 people work there.
At the BND itself, a so-called mole – a double agent – was last exposed in 2014. Two years later, the Munich Higher Regional Court sentenced the man to eight years in prison for years of espionage, primarily for the US secret service CIA. The then 32-year-old was found guilty of treason and breach of official secrets. Between 2008 and 2014, the trained office clerk passed on more than 200 BND documents, some of which were top secret or explosive, to the CIA and collected at least 80,000 euros for them.