UK Citizen Suspected of Spying for Russian Intelligence Detained in Germany

The arrest was made on 10 August in the German city of Potsdam, with searches having been carried out in the suspect's apartment and workplace.

A UK citizen suspected of spying for Russian intelligence has been detained in Germany, the press office of the German prosecutor’s office said on Wednesday.

"The accused is suspected of having collaborated with a foreign intelligence service since November 2020 at the latest … Until his arrest, David S. worked as a local employee at the British Embassy in Berlin. On at least one occasion he forwarded documents obtained during his work to a representative of a Russian intelligence service. In return for providing information, the accused received an unknown amount of cash," the press office said in a statement.

The German Foreign Ministry takes very seriously reports about the detention of the UK citizen suspected of collaborating with the Russian intelligence, as it considers such activities unacceptable, the ministry's spokesman, Christopher Burger, said.

"We take very seriously indications that the detainee's intelligence activities were carried out in the interests of Russian special services. We cannot tolerate intelligence activities against our close ally. Therefore, we will closely monitor developments," Burger said at a briefing.

A spokesman for the justice ministry, who was also present at the briefing, declined to comment on the case, referring all questions about details of the investigation to the federal prosecutor's office.

Russia's embassy in Germany has no official information on a UK citizen detained in Germany on suspicions of spying for Russia, the embassy said in a statement.

The UK citizen was detained in Potsdam on Tuesday, and his home and workplace have been searched. Berlin and London have cooperated to detain the suspect.

According to the British police, the suspect is 57 years old and was held on suspicion of committing offences relating to being engaged in "intelligence agent activity."