Germany arrests British man suspected of spying for Russia

BERLIN: German police have arrested a British man who labored on the British embassy in Berlin on suspicion of passing paperwork to the Russian intelligence service in alternate for money, prosecutors stated on Wednesday.
German prosecutors stated the condominium and office of the person, recognized solely as David S., had been searched and he could be introduced earlier than an investigating choose afterward Wednesday.
British police stated the person was 57.
“On a minimum of one event, he handed on paperwork he had obtained in the middle of his skilled actions to a consultant of a Russian intelligence service,” Germany’s chief federal prosecutor’s workplace stated in an announcement.
“The accused acquired money in an as but unknown quantity in return for his transmission of knowledge,” it added.
An investigating choose on the Federal Court docket of Justice later accepted the arrest warrant “on suspicion of secret service agent exercise,” that means the person may be held in custody and the investigation can go forward, the prosecutor’s workplace stated.
A Western safety supply stated the motivation of the British man was doubtless cash. As a domestically engaged staffer, he didn’t have entry to extremely categorized materials, the supply stated, including Britain’s MI5 counter-intelligence service was concerned in catching him.
German on-line journal Focus On-line reported that he offered the Russians with paperwork containing info on counterterrorism.
Russia’s Federal Safety Service (FSB) and International Intelligence Service (SVR) didn’t instantly reply to requests for remark. The Russian Embassy in Germany declined to touch upon stories in regards to the case to the Interfax information company.
The British embassy in Berlin is simply across the nook from the enduring Brandenburg Gate and a brief, 250-meter (273 yard) stroll from the Russian embassy, which is on the well-known Unter den Linden boulevard.
In Could, Britain set out plans to crack down on hostile exercise by international states, introducing a proposed legislation to offer safety companies and legislation enforcement new powers to sort out rising threats.
The person was arrested on Tuesday in Potsdam, simply outdoors Berlin. He was employed as an area workers member on the embassy till his arrest, which was the results of a joint investigation by German and British authorities, the prosecutors stated.
British police stated in an announcement the person was arrested on suspicion of committing offenses regarding being engaged in “Intelligence Agent exercise.”
British spy chiefs say each China and Russia have sought to steal commercially delicate information and mental property in addition to to intervene in politics, whereas Russian brokers are additionally accused of finishing up an assault on former Russian spy Sergei Skripal on British soil in 2018.
Beijing and Moscow say the West is gripped with a paranoia about plots. Each Russia and China deny they meddle overseas, search to steal know-how, perform cyberattacks or sow discord.
The Berlin case has echoes of the shadowy world of espionage practiced throughout the Chilly Conflict, when double agent Kim Philby and others in a hoop of British spies often called the “Cambridge 5” handed info to the Soviet Union.