German intelligence worker and acquaintance charged with treason for passing secrets and techniques to Russia

BERLIN — An worker of Germany‘s overseas intelligence service and an acquaintance have been charged with treason for allegedly passing secret paperwork to Russia, prosecutors stated Friday.

The intelligence officer, who has been recognized solely as Carsten L. according to German privateness guidelines, was arrested in Berlin on Dec. 21 final 12 months. The second suspect, a self-employed German businessman recognized as Arthur E., was arrested at Munich airport on Jan. 22 as he arrived from the United States.

Germany’s Federal Intelligence Service, or BND, stated on the time of the primary arrest that it introduced in prosecutors instantly after inner investigations substantiated details about a potential case of treason.

Federal prosecutors stated Friday that Carsten L. had been acquainted with Arthur E. since May 2021, and that the latter was in touch with a Russia-based businessman with ties to the FSB, Russia‘s home intelligence company. The three allegedly met in September 2022 and conspired to acquire delicate BND info for the FSB.

Carsten L. provided a complete of 9 paperwork associated to a undertaking on technical intelligence gathering on two events between mid-September and early October final 12 months, printing them out or taking images of them on his laptop display, prosecutors stated in a press release.

He then gave the fabric to Arthur E., who photographed the printouts, took the digitized knowledge to Moscow, printed it out and handed it to the FSB in conferences with Russian officers, they added.

In September 2022, an FSB officer gave Arthur E. an inventory of “questions of particular interest” and Carsten L. procured the solutions, prosecutors stated. They added that Carsten L. obtained no less than 450,000 euros ($482,000) from the FSB and Arthur E. received no less than 400,000 euros in money, which the latter picked up in Moscow in November 2022.

After the money pickup, Carsten L. organized for Arthur E. to be “smuggled” previous German customs after he landed for alleged skilled causes, in line with prosecutors.

The two males had been charged at a Berlin court docket with two counts of “joint perpetration of especially serious treason,” prosecutors stated. They added that the knowledge handed to the FSB was categorized as state secrets and techniques.

Germany has grow to be one of many main suppliers of army and monetary help to Ukraine since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022.

In a earlier case involving a suspected double agent on the company, a former BND worker in 2016 was convicted of violating Germany’s official secrets and techniques regulation and sentenced to eight years in jail for offering categorized info, largely to the CIA.