Germany charges 2 citizens with treason in Russia spying case

A German intelligence officer and a Russian-born German diamond trader have been accused of working with a Russian businessman to “procure sensitive information” from Germany’s foreign intelligence agency BND.

The officer implicated in the case is of high ranks, media reports said on Friday. The alleged “mole” and his accomplice, together, received a considerable sum of money for gathering and passing sensitive information to Russia.

German prosecutors believe Carsten L, who supervised over a BND department monitoring overseas telephone and internet communications, had shared government secrets about the war in Ukraine and the PMC Wagner Group with Russia in exchange for approximately 450,000 euros, according to German reports.

Carsten L was arrested last December in Berlin and charged with treason. Just weeks before his arrest he had been promoted to a post responsible for background checks at the agency, according to public broadcasters NDR and WDR.

Carsten L’s alleged accomplice was arrested a month later, upon arrival in Germany on a flight from the United States in January. Arthur E., a Russian-born German diamond trader, is suspected of having acted as the transporter of the classified information to Russia. He is accused of traveling to Moscow and handing the intelligence to Russia's Federal Security Service, the FSB. Arthur E. had reportedly held several meetings with the FSB in Moscow.

The FSB is said to have paid Arthur E. at least 400,000 euros for his services. Arthur E. has also been charged with treason.

The two men had apparently first met at a private party at a football club in Bavaria in 2021. Carsten L had told him about his work at the BND.

Now both men face “treason in a particularly serious case” with sentences that could range from five years to life in prison.

The BND chief Bruno Kahl described the case as a shock to his agency. He told the Tagesspiegel newspaper the BND had stepped up security measures to prevent further leaks. Kahl also claimed much of the material passed on to the FSB was of limited intelligence value.

Meanwhile, there has been growing concern in Europe about alleged increases in Russian spying efforts after launching its campaign in Donbas in February 2022. Since then, Germany and other European countries have arrested or expelled a number of individuals suspected of spying for Russia, prompting Moscow to take retaliatory measures.

Earlier this year, Russia slammed a decision by Germany to expel Russian diplomats from the country en masse, warning that Moscow would respond in kind to such moves.

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