Russia may have received secret information about the situation in Ukraine from a suspected spy at the Federal Intelligence Service. The suspect may have been blackmailed, according to a new report.
According to media reports, the suspected BND double agent unmasked last week could have passed on secret information about the situation in Ukraine to Russia. This is reported by NDR and WDR. It was also said, citing information from security circles, that the officer may have been blackmailed.
According to the report, the Federal Public Prosecutor or the foreign intelligence service BND did not want to comment on this. Both only referred to their press releases from last Thursday.
The BND employee Carsten L. was unmasked by the Federal Intelligence Service and, according to the authorities, was arrested on Wednesday last week on the instructions of the federal prosecutor. He is accused of having passed on state secrets to a Russian secret service.
According to reports, Carsten L. is a senior civil servant with access to sensitive information. As a specialist in evaluation, he was obviously responsible for analyzing all the processes and information that the BND gained through worldwide wiretapping.
According to Justice Minister Marco Buschmann, it is an "important blow against Russian espionage" - if the allegation is correct. Economics Minister Robert Habeck described the case on RTL/ntv a few days ago as "particularly worrying". At the same time, Habeck praised the work of the security authorities, including in defending against industrial espionage. "Everyone knows that trade relations are good and necessary, but we mustn't be naïve and stupid," said Habeck. "We have to protect our interests and, as you saw yesterday, our services are doing very well."
