Germany (Washington Insider Magazine) Germany arrested a British citizen working at the United Kingdom’s embassy in Berlin on espionage charges on Aug. 10, accusing the 57-year-old man of spying for Russia.
Residing in nearby Potsdam, the suspect was identified only as David S. He was hired locally and worked at the British embassy in Berlin as a security guard. He is accused of passing counter-terrorism documents to Russian officials and receiving a cash payment of an unknown amount in exchange.
The arrest is part of a joint U.K.-German investigation, according to a statement released by the German police. Officials suspect that this transaction could have started as early as November 2020.
According to a statement from the British police department, the investigation remains primarily with German authorities with support from the British Counter Terrorism Command.
Pro-Russian paraphernalia was allegedly found in the suspect’s residence according to footage and a report by London-based Daily Mail.
German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas expressed support for the British government against acts of espionage.
“Spying on a close ally on German soil is absolutely unacceptable and we are in full solidarity with our British friends,” he said.
Senior politicians in Berlin have called for a security review of private contractors working at the British embassy.
Relations between the U.K. and Germany, and the Russian government were strained before this latest incident, which could contribute to increasing tension with Moscow.
The U.K. has accused Russia of being responsible for a 2018 nerve agent attack against former Russian spy and British double agent Sergei Skripal, and his daughter Yulia Skripal. Russia has denied any involvement.
In June, German officials arrested a Russian university researcher and accused him of spying for the Russian government. German-Russian relations had previously been strained over the poisoning of Russian opposition leader Aleksei Navalny, who received life-saving treatment in Germany after he was poisoned on a Russian flight in August 2020.
Independent laboratory findings in the European Union found that he was poisoned with a nerve agent that is produced in Russia. London-based online sleuth Bellingcat has also concluded that Russia’s main spy agency, the Federal Security Service (FSB), was behind his attempted assassination.
Meanwhile, in November 2020, Russian security services arrested Dmitry Fedotkin, a U.K. station manager working for Russia’s state-owned Aeroflot airlines, and accused him of spying for Britain.
