A senior German BND analyst detained this week on suspicion of being a Russian spy may have passed information shared by the US National Security Agency (NSA) and Britain’s Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) to Russia has nature. German magazine Focus reported, citing an unnamed German security official.
Germany’s federal prosecutor’s office said on Wednesday that authorities had taken a BND employee of German nationality into custody. It is suspected that he “disclosed confidential information gathered during his work to Russian intelligence agencies.”
BND chief Bruno Karl said it was conducting an “extensive internal investigation” and accused Russia of “dirty practices”.
According to Focus magazine, the BND officer suspected of espionage was an intelligence evaluation specialist who had analyzed information obtained from intercepted communications around the world. Bloomberg contacted federal prosecutors for comment on the report, but a spokesman declined to comment.
Economy Minister Habeck said on RTL/ntv that the incident was “particularly problematic” because it involved Germany’s foreign intelligence services. He emphasized the important role of intelligence agencies, such as defense against industrial espionage.
Justice Minister Bushman also tweeted that if the allegations were found to be true, it would have “dealt a serious blow to Russian espionage”.
news-rsf-original-reference">Original title:Germany Allegedly Spying on NSA Material Used by Moscow, Focus Says(抜粋)
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