All articles tagged with #intelligence services
Polish police arrested a 36-year-old man suspected in the daylight killing of Russian artist Semyon Skrepetsky near Biała Podlaska; the suspect reportedly uses a Georgian passport and is linked to organized crime, with authorities considering possible involvement by foreign intelligence services. Prime Minister Donald Tusk called the death likely a political murder with potential Russian involvement.
A Paris court begins a high-profile trial of 22 people linked to the Athanor Freemason lodge, accused of running a mafia-style hit-squad network that carried out murders, assaults and robberies. Among the defendants are members of France’s DGSE, police, a former DGSI officer, a security guard, and business executives. Prosecutors say the group escalated from revenge acts to homicide, including the killing of a racing driver, with the case sparked by a botched 2020 contract and extending to multiple charges over several years. The trial is expected to last at least three months, with some defendants in custody and others under judicial supervision.
Multiple Western countries, including the US and European nations, condemn Iranian intelligence services for increasing threats and illegal activities such as kidnapping and harassment in Europe and North America, urging Iran to cease these actions to respect sovereignty.
Spanish intelligence services believe that the Kremlin orchestrated the assassination of Russian defector Maxim Kuzminov in Alicante, with the involvement of Russian authorities suspected. The murder, a warning to potential defectors, marks the first such killing on Spanish soil and has prompted diplomatic caution from the Spanish government. The operation, likely carried out by professional hitmen from outside Spain, has raised concerns about the involvement of Russian citizens living in Spain and mafia organizations. The decision to settle in an area with a significant Russian and Ukrainian population may have contributed to Kuzminov's exposure, as he lacked official protection from Spanish authorities.
The annual report of the Swiss intelligence services warns of the high threat posed by spying by Russia and China, with Switzerland being one of the states with the highest numbers of Russian intelligence officers operating under diplomatic cover. The report also highlights the increased threat to Switzerland since it assumed membership of the UN Security Council this year, and the decline in peacemaking abilities of international organizations. The report also mentions the Wagner coup attempt in Russia, which has captured the attention of Swiss intelligence officials.
Cypriot intelligence services, in cooperation with Israeli and US counterparts, reportedly foiled a planned terror attack targeting Jews and Israelis in Cyprus, believed to be linked to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. The attackers were using the northern part of the island as a staging post for the potential attack, and Cypriot intelligence services had closely followed the cell for a number of months. This comes after Israel warned earlier this year that Cyprus and Greece are countries where Iran is likely to target Jews and Israelis.
Cyprus has reportedly foiled an Iranian terrorist attack on Israeli citizens on its territory. The Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps was associated with the terror cell, which was arrested after an operation by Cypriot intelligence in coordination with Western intelligence services. The cell operated from the Turkish part of Northern Cyprus and sent operatives to Greek Cyprus. The main suspect managed to escape, but equipment was located that he might have planned to use to carry out the attack.
Czech President Petr Pavel has called for Russian citizens living abroad to be put under "strict surveillance" by intelligence services in their host countries, citing the aggressive war led by Russia. Pavel compared the situation to the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II. Russian citizens have fled their country by the hundreds of thousands since the start of the Kremlin's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Despite a crackdown on Moscow's operations in France, Russian spies have continued to target French politicians, according to transcripts of parliamentary hearings. The head of France's national intelligence service, the DGSI, warned MPs that Russia was the most active foreign power, with "several dozen officers from Russia's three intelligence agencies" using diplomatic cover to infiltrate France's political system. The DGSI has led operations to raise awareness among MPs on the risks of foreign interference and has detected suspicious contacts with Russian intelligence officers under diplomatic cover in recent months.