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CRIME

Two Germans charged with treason in Russia spying case

Two German men been charged with high treason for gathering state secrets from Germany's BND foreign intelligence agency and passing them to Russia, prosecutors said on Friday.

Published: 9 September 2023 08:45 CEST
Exterior partial view shows the headquarters of Germany's Federal Intelligence Service (BND) in Berlin.
Exterior partial view shows the headquarters of Germany's Federal Intelligence Service (BND) in Berlin. Two Germans have been charged with treason for gathering secrets from the BND and passing them to Russia. Photo: Barbara SAX / AFP

The pair, named as Carsten L. and Arthur E., are accused of working together with a Russian businessman to “procure sensitive information from the BND’s portfolio” and hand it over to Russia’s FSB security services.

Carsten L., an employee of the BND, was arrested in December 2022 and his accomplice was detained a month later as he arrived at Munich airport from the United States.

Carsten L. is accused of passing on documents from the BND to Arthur E., who in turn passed them on to the contact in Russia, the prosecutors said in a statement. 

In September and October 2022, Carsten L. allegedly printed out or took screenshots of nine internal BND documents.

He then passed on the information to Arthur E., who took digital images of the documents to Moscow, printed them out and handed them over to the FSB.

The Russian businessman is said to have arranged the meetings in Moscow and paid for Arthur E.’s flights.

The information was classified and leaking it posed a serious risk to German security, the prosecutors said.

The FSB is said to have paid Carsten L. at least 450,000 euros ($482,000) and Arthur E. at least 400,000 euros, with Arthur E. picking up the payments in cash from Moscow.

On his way back to Germany, Carsten E. arranged for his accomplice to be “smuggled” through customs at the airport.

If found guilty of high treason, the suspects could be jailed for life.

Russia and Germany have been at odds over several cases of alleged spying since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in early 2022.

The BfV German domestic security agency in June warned against the risk of an “aggressive Russian espionage operation” as Moscow pursues its war on Ukraine.

Western sanctions against Russia and support for Ukraine’s military defence meant the Kremlin had an “increased interest” in information gathering, the BfV said in its annual report.

In August, a German national working for the military was arrested on suspicion of spying for Russia.

In November 2022, a German man was handed a suspended sentence for passing information to Russian intelligence services while working as a reserve officer for the German army.

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GERMANY AND RUSSIA

Germany, Czech Republic accuse Russia of cyberattacks

Germany and the Czech Republic on Friday blamed Russia for a series of recent cyberattacks, prompting the European Union to warn Moscow of consequences over its "malicious behaviour in cyberspace".

Published: 4 May 2024 10:29 CEST
Germany, Czech Republic accuse Russia of cyberattacks

The accusations come at a time of strained relations between Moscow and the West following Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine and the European Union’s support for Kyiv.

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said a newly concluded government investigation found that a cyberattack targeting members of the Social Democratic Party had been carried out by a group known as APT28.

APT28 “is steered by the military intelligence service of Russia”, Baerbock told reporters during a visit to Australia.

“In other words, it was a state-sponsored Russian cyberattack on Germany and this is absolutely intolerable and unacceptable and will have consequences.”

APT28, also known as Fancy Bear, has been accused of dozens of cyberattacks in countries around the world. Russia denies being behind such actions.

The hacking attack on German Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s SPD party was made public last year. Hackers exploited a previously unknown vulnerability in Microsoft Outlook to compromise e-mail accounts, according to Berlin.

Berlin on Friday summoned the acting charge d’affaires of the Russian embassy over the incident.

The Russian embassy in Germany said its envoy “categorically rejected the accusations that Russian state structures were involved in the given incident… as unsubstantiated and groundless”.

Arms, aerospace targeted: Berlin 

German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser said the cyber campaign was orchestrated by Russia’s military intelligence service GRU and began in 2022. It also targeted German companies in the armaments and aerospace sectors, she said.

Such cyberattacks are “a threat to our democracy, national security and our free societies”, she told a joint news conference in Prague with her Czech counterpart Vit Rakusan.

“We are calling on Russia again to stop these activities,” Faeser added.

Czech government officials said some of its state institutions had also been the target of cyberattacks blamed on APT28, again by exploiting a weakness in Microsoft Outlook in 2023.

Czech Interior Minister Rakusan said his country’s infrastructure had recently experienced “higher dozens” of such attacks.

“The Czech Republic is a target. In the long term, it has been perceived by the Russian Federation as an enemy state,” he told reporters.

EU, NATO condemnation

The German and Czech findings triggered strong condemnation from the European Union.

“The malicious cyber campaign shows Russia’s continuous pattern of irresponsible behaviour in cyberspace, by targeting democratic institutions, government entities and critical infrastructure providers across the European Union and beyond,” EU foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell said.

The EU would “make use of the full spectrum of measures to prevent, deter and respond to Russia’s malicious behaviour in cyberspace”, he added.

State institutions, agencies and entities in other member states including in Poland, Lithuania, Slovakia and Sweden had been targeted by APT28 in the past, the statement added.

The latest accusations come a day after NATO expressed “deep concern” over Russia’s “hybrid actions” including disinformation, sabotage and cyber interference.

The row also comes as millions of Europeans prepare to go to the polls for the European Parliament elections in June, and concerns about foreign meddling are running high.

Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky told AFP that “pointing a finger publicly at a specific attacker is an important tool to protect national interests”.

One of the most high-profile incidents so far blamed on Fancy Bear was a cyberattack in 2015 that paralysed the computer network of the German lower house of parliament, the Bundestag. It forced the entire institution offline for days while it was fixed.

In 2020, the EU imposed sanctions on individuals and entities linked to the APT28 group over the incident.

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