Arnon Grunberg

Treason

Undoing

On espionage - Maik Baumgärtner, Jörg Diehl, Matthias Gebauer, Martin Knobbe, Roman Lehberger, Ann-Katrin Müller, Fidelius Schmid and Wolf Wiedmann-Schmidt in Der Spiegel:

‘L.'s undoing was that another Western intelligence service discovered a data set in the Russian apparatus that was clearly attributable to the BND. The data included findings about Russia. It's possible that it also contained information on the BND's methods and sources. The data reportedly included findings from telecommunications surveillance that may have just been photographed from a screen.’

(…)

‘One thing that remains hazy is a possible motive: nothing is known about any possible financial worries the suspect may have had. The officer from the Bundeswehr armed forces was working for the BND and lived with his wife and children in Bavaria. He had reportedly encountered frustrations in his job, but that's not so unusual.
The federal prosecutor is investigating the BND agent not on suspicion of "intelligence agent activity" but of "aggravated treason." It’s a far more serious accusation.
If that crime is proven, Carsten L. would have created "the risk of serious detriment to the external security of the Federal Republic of Germany" by betraying a state secret and abusing his position of responsibility to do so. That's what Section 94 of the German Criminal Code states. So, this isn't just about a civil servant providing a few official secrets. The defendant could face a prison sentence of five years to life.’

(…)

‘Even if the intelligence service hasn't always been respected by its partners in recent times, the TA had an excellent international reputation. One reason is that the BND still uses an outdated wiretapping method that other intelligence agencies have abandoned, and is thus able to intercept Russian military communications, for example. Since the outbreak of the war, the findings from signals intelligence at Pullach have been among the West's strongest information that they have been able to supply to the Ukrainian armed forces in the war against Russia.’

(…)

‘It is likely that there will be further suspected cases of Russian espionage in the West in the coming year. In the Bundestag in October, President Haldenwang of the Office for the Protection of the Constitution praised the German government's decision to expel 40 suspected Russian spies. He also said: "That was far from all of them." Numerous agents are still said to be stationed at the Russian Embassy in Berlin, where they are disguised as diplomats.’

Read the article here.

As to the motive, if not money then maybe ideology? Or just the sheer adventure?

Furthermore, outdated wiretapping methods have its advantages.

And more spies are among us. Now it’s just a matter of time before spies will be exchanged. As Bout-Griner taught us, civilians can be used as hostages to get some prisoners free. Honor is not part of the equation and probably it never was.

Le Carré: ‘What the hell do you think spies are? Moral philosophers measuring everything they do against the word of God or Karl Marx? They're not! They're just a bunch of seedy, squalid bastards like me: little men, drunkards, queers, hen-pecked husbands, civil servants playing cowboys and Indians to brighten their rotten little lives.’

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