A German citizen has been arrested on suspicion of treason for alleged involvement in a scheme to pass intelligence to Russia. The man, named only as Arthur E, was arrested on Sunday at Munich airport with the help of the FBI. He’s thought to be linked to a German foreign intelligence service (BND) employee who was arrested in December for allegedly spying for Russia. Prosecutors have said Arthur E doesn’t work for the intelligence services. Instead, they believe he passed on information from his acquaintance – the detained BND officer known as Carsten L because of privacy rules – to … Continue reading German man arrested for allegedly passing intelligence to Russia

A Chinese engineer has been jailed for eight years for spying in the US, in a case linked to Chinese efforts to steal aviation trade secrets. Ji Chaoqun, 31, had identified scientists and engineers for possible recruitment, according to the US Department of Justice. He also enlisted in the US Army Reserves and lied to recruiters. US authorities said Ji worked under the direction of a key Chinese state intelligence unit. Last September he was convicted for acting as an agent of a foreign government without notifying the US attorney-general – a charge used in espionage cases – and of … Continue reading Chinese engineer Ji Chaoqun jailed for spying in US

German authorities have arrested an employee of its BND foreign intelligence agency on suspicion of passing state secrets to Russia. The accused, named as Carsten L because of privacy rules, was arrested in Berlin in a case of possible treason. Authorities searched his flat and workplace as well as the home of another person. Foreign intelligence chief Bruno Kahl said releasing more details about the case could be of use to Moscow. “With Russia, we are dealing with an actor on the opposite side whose unscrupulousness and willingness to use violence we must reckon with,” Mr Kahl said. “Every detail … Continue reading Suspected Russian spy held by German intelligence

Iran has executed four men accused of working with Israel’s intelligence service, Iranian state media reported. The sentences for “intelligence cooperation” with Israel and “kidnapping” were carried out on Sunday, the Mizan news agency said. Iran’s Supreme Court had upheld death penalties against them on Wednesday following their arrest in May. The executions come at a time of heightened tensions in Iran after more than two months of protests. Three other people were sentenced to between five and 10 years in prison for crimes against the country’s security, complicity in kidnapping and possession of weapons, the judiciary’s website said. Iran and … Continue reading Iran executes four men over alleged links with Israel’s intelligence service

Canadian police say a public utility worker at Hydro-Quebec has been arrested for spying for China. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) arrested Yuesheng Wang, 35, on Monday and charged him with espionage. Mr Wang “obtained trade secrets to benefit the People’s Republic of China, to the detriment of Canada’s economic interests,” police said in a statement. He will appear in court in Longueuil, Quebec, on Tuesday to face four criminal charges. The resident of Candiac, a suburb south of Montreal, is accused of obtaining trade secrets, unauthorised use of a computer, breach of trust by a public officer and … Continue reading Canada police charge Hydro-Quebec employee with spying for China

A former US Navy engineer and his wife have been jailed in West Virginia for trying to sell military secrets to an unspecified foreign country. Jonathan Toebbe, 42, had worked in the office of the chief of naval operations and was caught offering secrets about nuclear-powered submarines. He was jailed for 18 years, while his wife Diana received 21 years – a much harsher sentence than expected. The judge suggested the wife, 42, had been in charge of the operation. Court documents revealed that the former teacher had acted as a lookout for her husband when he left information at … Continue reading Wife of American spy gets longer prison sentence than husband

Security services in Norway say they have arrested a university lecturer accused of working for Russia as a spy. Oslo’s internal security agency, the PST, arrested the man on his way to work after identifying him as a “threat to fundamental national interests”. The suspect, said to be in his 30s, had posed as a Brazilian academic, but officials say he is actually Russian. Moscow’s embassy in Oslo told local media it was unaware of the man’s identity. Norwegian officials said the man had worked as a researcher at the University of Tromso in the north of the country since … Continue reading Norway arrests man accused of being Russian spy

Two Chinese nationals have been charged with paying thousands of dollars in cash and jewellery to obstruct a federal investigation into a major telecommunications company. According to prosecutors, the two men attempted to recruit a US law enforcement official as an intelligence asset to help interfere with the probe. The official, however, was working as a double agent for the FBI. Eleven other Chinese citizens were also charged in two other spying cases. According to charging documents, the two men – identified as Gouchun He and Zheng Wang – attempted to cultivate a relationship with a US law enforcement official … Continue reading US charges alleged Chinese spies in telecoms probe case

A Bogota court has sentenced a former director of intelligence of the former Colombian secret services (Departamento Administrativo de Seguridad, DAS), Laude José Fernández Arroyo, to four years in jail for the crime of conspiracy against the Avianca airline union when Fernández was working for a security company. However, the ruling includes the statute of limitations for the crime of illegal violation of communications that he had been charged with. Specifically, Fernandez has been convicted for the interception of communications of captains Jorge Mario Medina, Jaime Hernandez and Julian Pinzo, leaders of the 2017 pilots’ strike. The ‘chuzadas’ affected not … Continue reading Former Colombian DAS intelligence director jailed for four years over spying

A US army major doctor and her wife, a civilian doctor, have been charged with a plot to leak information to the Russian government. Jamie Lee Henry and Anna Gabrielian are accused of planning to share confidential information about patients at a military hospital. The pair allegedly told an undercover FBI agent that they were motivated by patriotism for Russia. Representatives of the couple have not yet commented on the case. There has been no comment from Russian authorities, either. The pair were charged with conspiracy and the disclosure of identifiable health information, in an indictment filed in a court … Continue reading US army doctor and wife charged with Russia spying

Japan has accused Russia’s security services of blindfolding and restraining one of its diplomats in the eastern city of Vladivostok. Motoki Tatsunori, its consul in the city, was freed from custody on Tuesday after being accused of espionage – and given 48 hours to leave Russia. Moscow alleges he received secret information about its co-operation with an unnamed Asian country. Japan denies the allegation and is demanding a formal apology. Russia’s FSB security service said it had detained Mr Tatsunori on Monday for soliciting information about “the impact of Western sanctions” on Moscow after its invasion of Ukraine in February. … Continue reading Update: Japan says Russia ‘blindfolded and restrained’ its consul in Vladivostok

Russia has announced that it has detained a Japanese diplomat the Kremlin claims had been caught “red-handed” spying. The diplomat was named by Moscow as Motoki Tatsunori, Tokyo’s consul in the eastern city of Vladivostok. He was accused of trying to buy classified information about another country cooperating with Russia. In a statement, Russia’s FSB security service said the Japanese diplomat accused of spying had been ordered to leave the country within 48 hours. It claimed: “A Japanese diplomat was detained red-handed while receiving classified information, in exchange for money, about Russia’s cooperation with another country in the Asia-Pacific region.” … Continue reading Russia detains Japanese diplomat ‘caught red-handed’ spying