Suspected Russian Spy Arrested

A British man has been arrested in Germany on suspicion of spying for Russia. German federal prosecutors said the man, named as David S, worked at the British embassy in Berlin where he allegedly passed on both electronic cyber documents, details of the internal Wi-Fi network and hard copy paper work to Russian intelligence operatives, in exchange for an "unknown amount" of money.

The British citizen was arrested in Potsdam on 10th August and his home and his  workplace have been searched as part of a joint investigation between the British Met Police's Counter Terrorism Command and their German counterparts. It said his alleged offences were related to being engaged in "Intelligence Agent activity" under German law and that the German authorities would retain primacy over the probe.

The 57-year-old Briton is understood not to be a diplomat but a private contractor working as a security guard at the Berlin embassy and therefore does not hold diplomatic immunity. He is suspected of having worked for a Russian intelligence agency at least since November 2020, passing on documents he had acquired through his work to a handler. He is alleged to have been paid a cash bribe to pass information to Russian intelligence.The suspect was believed to have been spying since November 2020 "at the latest".

Berlin was the epicentre of Cold War espionage with spies working its streets and alleys in search of secrets. Intelligence gathering has changed since those days and often involves cyber-espionage carried out remotely nowadays. But the old ways have not disappeared.

Spy services still seek out people whom they can recruit to pass on sensitive information and that makes embassies a prime target with Berlin still a major focus. It turns put that t is not just diplomats who have direct access to the secrets which spies are interested in.

German Federal Prosecutor:      Metropolitan Police:    BBC:       Guardian:      Independent:     Korea Times:     Sky:   

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