A captain in the Bundeswehr is said to have offered himself as an agent to Russia on several occasions and delivered confidential information free of charge. Now he is on trial in Düsseldorf.
A Bundeswehr officer is standing before the Higher Regional Court in Düsseldorf from today on charges of particularly serious espionage for Russia.
As a captain in the Bundeswehr, the 54-year-old was responsible for electronic warfare systems, said a representative of the Federal Prosecutor’s Office when the indictment was read out. His goal was “to give the Russian armed forces an advantage against the background of the current political situation.”
He loaded information from a Bundeswehr drive onto a CD and put it in the mailbox of the Russian consulate. He also took photos of Air Force training documents with his cell phone.
Confidential information for Russian Embassy in Berlin
From May 2023 onwards, the captain sent confidential information to the Russian consulate in Bonn and the Russian embassy in Berlin several times with the addition: “I would be happy to hear more”. Although he received no response, he tried again and again: by mail, by email, with telephone calls from the Internet and from a pay phone.
He advertised himself as an agent by saying that the knowledge he could provide would “mean a considerable plus for the Russian armed forces and the Russian Federation.” The defendant announced a plea. He faces up to ten years in prison.
Officials from the Federal Criminal Police Office arrested the captain in Koblenz on August 9th. He has been in custody ever since. At that time, emergency services searched the accused’s apartment and workplace. The Senate, chaired by Judge Lars Bachler, has scheduled seven days of hearings for the trial until June 24th.
