A british man has been arrested in germany on suspicion of spying for russia.
German federal prosecutors said the person – named handiest as david s – labored on the british embassy in berlin.
He allegedly passed documents to russian intelligence “at the least once” in exchange for an “unknown amount” of money.
He became arrested in potsdam outside berlin on tuesday and his home and place of work have been searched.
A spokesman for germany’s foreign ministry quoted via afp news agency stated berlin was taking the case “very seriously”, and said spying by using “a close alliance companion on german soil is unacceptable”.
The arrest turned into the end result of a joint uk-german research, the announcement examine.
It became intelligence-led and were taking place for some time leading as much as the arrest, the bbc’s safety correspondent gordon corera says. Mi5 and different uk companies, as well as british police, have been working with the germans to learn as a lot as they might about the alleged interest.
London’s metropolitan police confirmed the arrest of a fifty seven-12 months-antique british national in germany, in addition to the involvement of the met’s counter terrorism command.
German authorities are in charge of the research, however officers will preserve to paintings with german opposite numbers, the police said.
The man is due to seem earlier than an investigating choose on wednesday.
Prosecutors stated he become employed as a nearby team of workers member at the embassy.
German on-line information site recognition on line reviews that the files handed on have been to do with counter-terrorism, and that the man is not idea to have diplomatic immunity.
Berlin was the epicentre of bloodless warfare espionage with spies running its streets and alleys looking for secrets and techniques.
Intelligence accumulating has changed due to the fact the ones days and frequently entails cyber-espionage performed remotely these days.
However the vintage methods have no longer disappeared. Spy services still are seeking for out human beings whom they can recruit to pass on touchy statistics and that makes embassies a prime goal with berlin nonetheless a prime recognition.
And it is not just diplomats who have direct get entry to to secrets and techniques who spies are interested by.
Domestically hired staff – starting from drivers to security guards to cleaners – can also be focused with cash or other inducements because they can offer get entry to to rooms to plant listening devices or acquire facts themselves.
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German and united kingdom members of the family with russia are already strained after several high-profile incidents in current years.
The United Kingdom accused russia of being answerable for a 2018 nerve agent assault in salisbury against sergei and yulia skripal – an accusation russia has time and again denied.
Each survived the attack. But a local woman died after she got here into contact with a fragrance bottle idea to had been used in the incident and then discarded.
Germany in the meantime treated russian dissident alexei navalny after he become poisoned with the novichok nerve agent on a russian flight final yr. Russian government have additionally time and again denied their involvement in this incident.
Ultimate month german chancellor angela merkel and us president joe biden vowed to face collectively “towards russian aggression”.