A BND employee is said to have sold top secret information to a Russian secret service. The alleged case of treason hit the BND to the core. As of today, Carsten L. has to answer in court with an intermediary.
The interest is enormous. There are nowhere near enough seats in room 145a of the Berlin Court of Appeal to accommodate all the media representatives who want to follow the start of the trial.
The rush is not surprising. The case, which is being heard from today before the 6th Criminal Senate under the chairmanship of Judge Detlev Schmidt, contains everything that makes a spy thriller.
For the Federal Intelligence Service (BND), however, it was the worst publicity in many years, not to say a catastrophe. Just as Russia is waging war against Ukraine and Germany is supporting Ukraine militarily in this fight for survival, an employee of the German foreign intelligence service is said to have sold himself to a Russian secret service.
The Federal Prosecutor General accuses BND employee Carsten L. and businessman Arthur E. of particularly serious treason. According to the investigation, Carsten L. is said to have passed on a total of nine documents from the BND to Arthur E. after either printing them out or photographing them from the office computer.
Handovers in Pullach and Berlin
There are said to have been two handovers, one at the duty station in Pullach, Bavaria, and another in Berlin. Arthur E., in turn, is said to have acted as a middleman and handed the documents to the Russian secret service FSB in Moscow. A Russian entrepreneur is also said to have played a central role. He was not accessible to the German investigators and was therefore not in the dock, but he is said to have brokered contact with the FSB.
During the course of the investigation, the incident was apparently largely reconstructed. Also because Arthur E. testified extensively, in contrast to Carsten L., who has remained silent about the allegations to this day.
Ex-soldiers got to know each other in 2021
Accordingly, the two men are said to have met in May 2021 in Weilheim near Munich, where Carsten L. lives, at a barbecue held by a local sports club. At that time, Carsten L. was head of department in the BND’s “Technical Reconnaissance” department at the location in Pullach.
Apparently they had a lot to talk about. Both were formerly employed by the Bundeswehr. Arthur E. had been leading a colorful life as a businessman for several years, trading in gold and precious stones and traveling all over the world. There were obviously enough points of contact for the two of them.
A year and a half later, according to the investigation, Carsten L. is said to have agreed in September 2022 to obtain documents from the BND in order to sell them to the Russian secret service FSB. How ARD capital studio and rbb reported that the betrayal was said to have been arranged at a meeting in a bar on Lake Starnberg, which was attended by Carsten L., Arthur E. and the Russian entrepreneur – an acquaintance of Arthur E. with excellent contacts in the Russian secret service.
Afterwards, L. is said to have quickly taken action at the BND, obtained the first documents and handed them over to Arthur E. to pass on to the FSB. The meetings are said to have been arranged by the Russian entrepreneur, who, according to the federal prosecutor’s office, also booked and paid for Arthur E.’s flights to Moscow. According to investigators, Arthur E. met several times with FSB employees in Moscow.
Lots of money and free entry
The betrayal is said to have been financially worthwhile: As the Federal Prosecutor’s Office announced, Carsten L. is said to have received 450,000 euros and Arthur E. 400,000 euros from the FSB. Arthur E. is said to have received the money in Moscow in November 2022 and brought it to Germany. According to the Federal Prosecutor’s Office, Carsten L., in turn, ensured that E. was passed through customs upon his arrival at the airport so that the large sum of cash would not be noticed.
But what exactly was worth so much money to the FSB? How ARD capital studio and rbb reported that Carsten L. is said to have revealed very sensitive, top secret information to the Russians about an ongoing technical operation by the BND.
Operation against the Wagner Group
Specifically, it is said to have been about the communication of the Wagner mercenary group, which played an important role in Russia’s war against Ukraine in 2022. Together with a partner service, the BND is said to have been able to monitor the Wagner Group’s communications. After the betrayal, the Wagner group visibly changed their communication behavior, it was said in security circles. In other words: The previously successful operation failed due to betrayal.
The BND also owed the fact that Carsten L. was exposed to a tip from a partner service. The BND itself downplayed the damage caused after the treason case was announced a year ago. In court, however, the service is likely to have an interest in making the extent and effects clearly clear.
How much of this will be revealed to the public remains to be seen. The court has the option of excluding the public from the main hearing if it concerns content that is essential to the security of the Federal Republic. Although the presiding judge is said to be keen to allow as much publicity as possible, it can still be assumed that parts of the hearing will take place behind closed doors.