Did the BND sleep through the Prigozhin revolt? The criticism is getting louder – and could also get the President into trouble.
The Federal Intelligence Service (BND) is again criticized for not knowing about important events in good time. The point is when the secret service became aware of the revolt by Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin. And what consequences that could have for the head of the authority, Bruno Kahl. Chancellor Olaf Scholz had already surprised in the program “Maischberger” with the statement that the BND “of course did not know about it beforehand”.
“Der Spiegel” is now reporting that an internal investigation has been initiated at the BND to work out whether the secret service should have recognized the plans of the Wagner group earlier, the magazine reported on Friday in advance. It is also about the question of whether information from foreign intelligence services has been correctly evaluated.
The United States apparently had information earlier
As the report says, initially no mistakes were seen at the BND. They didn’t know weeks in advance about the march on Moscow – “but neither did the Americans,” an official who is said to have spoken at a specialist conference is quoted as saying.
The Washington Post, on the other hand, wrote that the US secret services had received tips as early as mid-June. American media had reported that selected US politicians were informed about the developments at an early stage. The White House was briefed on Friday, the day before the riot.
Internal instruction for verification
After Scholz’s statement had caused astonishment, the BND apparently also saw a need for action. According to “Spiegel”, internal instructions were issued last Tuesday to thoroughly check one’s own level of knowledge and all information from the secret services of friendly countries in advance.
Pressure also comes from politics. “We have now been surprised by the events too often,” said SPD politician Ralf Stegner. He chairs the committee tasked with investigating the Afghanistan debacle. Because the BND was also caught off guard by the Taliban’s invasion of Kabul. The FDP politician Ulrich Lechte complained that the parliamentarians had not been informed about Prigozhin’s impending uprising. And the Green MP Sara Nanni called the situation “frustrating”, but at the same time pointed out that it was also a question of resources.
Criticism by politicians of the BND
The SPD politician Andreas Schwarz has already questioned the quality of the work of the German spies: “I hope this is not true. Otherwise you really have to think about whether the BND is working up to date and actually maintains good cooperation with other services,” wrote he on Twitter and referred to reports that the BND only informed the Federal Chancellery last Saturday morning.
The CDU politician Roderich Kiesewetter, chairman of the secret service control committee, criticized the restrictions of the BND in the “Handelsblatt”: “The Federal Chancellor would not even have needed a service for the evaluation, but could simply evaluate the public sources politically.” Scholz therefore makes it very easy for himself if he does not clearly contradict the criticism of the BND. He pointed out that other countries had more opportunities for clarification and that this was “heavily regulated” in Germany.
According to “Spiegel”, a former CIA employee pointed out that an uprising requires a certain amount of logistical preparation: “Troop movements and equipment relocation, communication – you get a lot of things.”
