Germany charges former military reserve officer with spying for Russia

The German Public Prosecutor General on Friday filed charges against a former reserve officer of Bundeswehr (Armed forces of Germany) for leaking information related to the military, German business community and the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline to the Russian intelligence agency between 2014 and 2020. 

The indictment was filed against the reserve officer, named as Ralph G, following the German privacy rules on March 16 at the state court in Duesseldorf.

Incident involved leaking Info about Nord Stream 2, Business contacts and Bundeswehr

According to the prosecutor, the officer, a member of several German business communities, allegedly had access to information & documents from the military and also had specific inputs about the Nord Stream 2 project, which was constructed to deliver Russian gas to Germany, was completed in 2021 however the certification was halted by Chancellor Olaf Scholz as a means to sanction Russia after its launch of special military operations against Ukraine on February 24, as reported by ANI.

According to AP, the officer passed on information regarding the Civilian-Military cooperation, the reserve force of Bundeswehr, the impact of the sanctions imposed on Russia in 2014 on Germany, the European Union and the now-suspended Nord Stream 2 pipeline project. The suspect also allegedly provided a high-level view of the security and defence policy of the US and its western allies.   

Another charge against the reserve officer was about leaking personal data and contact information of "high-ranking members of the Bundeswehr and from the business community." In return, the Russians would invite him to events organised by Russian government bodies, according to the prosecutor. 

Germany has faced cases in the past, where foreign or German nationals have been caught spying for Russia. In January 2021, Germany had expelled a Russian diplomat on the charges of working for Russia's SVR foreign intelligence agency and passing information on European rockets to Russian intelligence, AP quoted German weekly Der Spiegel. In February 2020, a German man was charged with espionage for allegedly passing information on properties used by the German parliament to Russian military intelligence. In August 2020, Germany arrested a British citizen on suspicion of spying for Russia while working at Britain's Embassy in Berlin.

IMAGE: AP