A senior German intelligence officer has been charged with treason for allegedly passing state secrets to Russia, the BBC reports.
According to German reports, prosecutors believe that Karsten L. shared intelligence about the war in Ukraine and the Wagner mercenary group and received about 400,000 euros. Another German man suspected of working as a courier has also been charged. Both men face life imprisonment.
An employee of the German Foreign Intelligence Service (BND), known as Karsten L., was in charge of a department that monitors foreign telephone and Internet communications, according to German privacy rules.
According to the Süddeutsche Zeitung and public broadcasters NDR and WDR, a few weeks before his arrest, he was promoted to a position responsible for background checks at the agency.
Karsten L. was arrested in Berlin in December last year. Police arrested his alleged accomplice Arthur E. a month after he arrived in Germany on a flight from the United States. Arthur E., a German businessman born in Russia, is accused of traveling to Moscow and passing intelligence to the FSB.
Both men have reportedly been charged by the German Attorney General with "treason in a particularly serious case." A court in Berlin must now decide whether to hear the case.
The prosecutor's office refused to comment on the charges. The head of the BND, Bruno Kahl, recently called the case a shock to his office.
But he told the Tagesspiegel newspaper that much of the material handed over was of limited value and that the BND had tightened security measures to prevent further leaks.
Following the invasion of Ukraine last February, concerns about Russian espionage in Europe have grown. Several countries, including the UK, Poland and Norway, have arrested or expelled suspected Russian spies.
