Germany arrests one of its intelligence officers for being a Russian spy
View of the main entrance of the headquarters of Germany's Federal Intelligence Service
A German Federal Intelligence Service (BND) agent has been arrested on the suspicion that he was spying for Russia. The arrest took place on Thursday and the suspecthas been charged with treason, according to the national prosecutors.The officer named Carsten L. was arrested in Berlin under German privacy laws.
“The accused is suspected of state treason. In 2022, he shared information that he came by in the course of his work with a Russian intelligence agency. The content is considered a state secret," read the statement shared by federal prosecutors.
This is not the first time that Germany has managed to unearth hidden spies. In April, earlier this year, the German government expelled 40 Russian' 'spies' who were surreptitiously providing crucial intel to Moscow.
Read more: Russian 'deep cover-spy' mixed freely with NATO officials in Naples, claim investigators
However, the last time an intelligence officer was arrested for treason was in 2014. Markus R, an intelligence employee was sentenced to eight years in prison for revealing top-secret information to the USA's Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).
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Notably, BND, in its work and scope is akin to CIA with the mission statement clearly mentioning the job of the agency is to compile “political, economic and military foreign intelligence.”
WATCH |Russian spies hacked former UK Prime Minister Liz Truss' mobile phone
Why has the 'spy' activity increased?
Germany and Russia have been at loggerheads ever since the latter invaded Ukraine. While Berlin has sided with Kyiv, Moscow has used its position of being the supplier of natural gas and oil to the European country as leverage.
For the major part of the year, Germany and Russia squabbled over the Nord Stream 1 pipeline. The pipeline runs from Russia to Germany under the Baltic Sea and is considered the lifeline of European countries.
It was in July that Russia closed Nord Stream 1 for the first time citing maintenance. It added that the 12-metre turbine used to operate the pipeline was stuck in Canada for repairs.
Read more:Gazprom's halt of Nord Stream 1 pipeline plunges Europe into a gas crisis
Afterwards, the multiple blasts surrounding both Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 pipelines caused a significant slowdown in supplies, taking the bilateral relations between the two powerhouses to an all-time low.
(With inputs from agencies)
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