On Wednesday, two German men who are accused of obtaining intelligence secrets and giving them to Russia’s security services during the conflict in Ukraine will stand trial in Berlin on high treason charges.
Prosecutors have identified the two as Carsten L. and Arthur E.; they are charged with conspiring with a Russian businessman to “procure sensitive information” from Germany’s BND foreign intelligence portfolio.
The subject of the leaked data was not disclosed by the prosecutors, but Spiegel magazine revealed that it was about the BND’s surveillance operations against the Wagner paramilitary force, which fought with Russia’s regular troops in Ukraine.
If found guilty of high treason, the suspects could be jailed for life.
Carsten L., an employee of the BND, is alleged to have passed documents from the agency to Arthur E. who in turn handed them to a contact in Russia, according to prosecutors.
Carsten L. allegedly copied out or grabbed screenshots of nine internal BND files between September and October 2022.
The documents were given to Arthur E., who is said to have printed off digital copies, brought them to Moscow, and given them to Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB).
Prosecutors claimed that because the material was classified, its disclosure constituted a major risk to German security.
Carsten L. is reported to have received at least 450,000 euros ($485,500) from the FSB, and Arthur E. to have received at least 400,000 euros; Arthur E. reportedly picked up the cash payments from Moscow.
