On Thursday, German authorities said they had arrested an employee of the foreign intelligence service, the BND, on suspicion of sharing state secrets with him. Russia This year, they commit treason.
Police arrested the suspect, a German citizen named Carsten L, on Wednesday, in Berlin, the Federal Prosecution Office said, adding that police also raided his apartment and workplace as well as someone else’s home.
“The defendant is charged with treason,” federal prosecutors said in a statement. In the year 2022, he shares information he came up with while working for a Russian intelligence agency. The content is a state secret.”
German authorities have warned of a possible escalation of Russian espionage in light of the confrontation between the Kremlin and the West over the invasion of Ukraine. The German government expelled 40 Russian “spys” in April, according to the local intelligence agency.
The Russian embassy in Berlin did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
Bruno Kahl, the head of the organization, said in a statement that the German Federal Intelligence Service (BND) began its far-reaching internal investigation into the matter as soon as it became aware of possible betrayal in its ranks. When these suspicions were confirmed, the BND summoned federal prosecutors.
Kahl said secrecy was key going forward, because any details of the investigation made public could give “the adversary an advantage in his intent to harm Germany.” He said, “With Russia we’re dealing with an actor where we have to reckon with his ruthlessness and willingness to be violent.”
Kahl added that the BND will not provide any further details of the case until federal prosecutors complete their investigation.
The case comes days after Austria announced that it had identified a 39-year-old Greek citizen suspected of spying for Russia.
The last time a German intelligence worker was arrested for treason was in 2014, though it was then for betraying secrets to the CIA. The man, Marcus R., was sentenced in 2016 to eight years in prison. At that time, this incident cooled relations between close allies Berlin and Washington.
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