In the recent past, German investigators have tracked down several suspected Russian spies. In the middle of the Ukraine war, a new case has now come to light.
A reserve officer in the Bundeswehr and business representatives are said to have provided a Russian secret service with information for several years.
Among other things, it was about the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, the federal prosecutor in Karlsruhe announced on Friday. Charges were brought against the man, who is not in custody, in mid-March. The trial is to take place at the Higher Regional Court (OLG) in Düsseldorf.
“The accused is sufficiently suspected of having worked for a foreign secret service against the Federal Republic of Germany and against a NATO state party,” it said. The man, who is 65 years old according to information from the German Press Agency, has been in contact with the intelligence service through various people since October 2014 at the latest. By March 2020, he had forwarded documents and information “on numerous occasions” – “partly from public, but also from non-public sources”. His place of residence was not disclosed.
member of several committees
According to the Federal Prosecutor’s Office, the man was the deputy head of a district liaison command in the reserve. This is a temporary crisis facility of the Bundeswehr, which is activated when necessary. Because of his civilian job, he was a member of several German business committees.
The accused is said to have passed on information from both areas. In return, he received invitations to events organized by Russian government agencies.
The intelligence service received information about German reservists and so-called civil-military cooperation in crisis situations, the investigators said. In the economic area, for example, it was about the effects of the Russia sanctions imposed in 2014 and the Nord Stream 2 Baltic Sea pipeline, which has since been stopped.
Contact details passed on from the economy
In addition, the man is said to have given the Russians private contact details “of high-ranking members of the Bundeswehr and from the economy”. The security and defense policy of the USA and its western allies was also an issue.
According to dpa information, there was already a search in connection with the suspicion in 2020. Since no one was arrested, the federal prosecutor’s office had not yet publicly disclosed their investigations. The indictment still has to be approved by the Higher Regional Court.
In recent years, suspected spies on Russian orders have been busted several times. A Russian is currently on trial in Munich accused of espionage in the field of rocket research. Another suspect is said to have passed on floor plans of Bundestag buildings. A former employee of the British embassy in Berlin is also suspected of having obtained documents from a Russian secret service for money.
Source: Stern
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