Federal Office for Arms, Information Technology and the Use of the Bundeswehr

History

2023: Employee detained on suspicion of spying for Russia

Thomas H., an employee of the German Ministry of Defense, was detained in the city of Koblenz in the west of the country in the case of espionage in favor of Russia. This was reported by the Prosecutor General's Office of the Federal Republic of Germany on August 9, 2023 Two days later, the details of this case became known.

According to Der Spiegel, the detainee worked in the U department of the Federal Department of Arms, Information Technology and the Use of the Bundeswehr (Bundesamt fur Ausrustung, Informationstechnik und Nutzung der Bundeswehr), which, among other things, is engaged in the purchase of electronic warfare systems. According to the publication, Thomas H. had access to classified information regarding the projects of the German armed forces in the field of electronic warfare; it is provided after the employee passes a special check. By August 11, 2023, it is not known whether he managed to transfer data on electronic warfare to the Russian side. The military counterintelligence service MAD identified the spy when he tried to contact Russian intelligence agencies, so there was probably no leak of classified information, the publication said.

Building of the Federal Office of Arms, Information Technology and the Bundeswehr

According to the Prosecutor General's Office of the Federal Republic of Germany, the man repeatedly appealed to the Russian diplomatic mission with a proposal for cooperation and once provided information obtained during his professional activities. According to the online publication Focus-online, the German Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (counterintelligence) tracked down a Bundeswehr officer suspected of spying for the Russian Federation using video surveillance cameras installed at Russian diplomatic institutions.

German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius, against the background of the detention of a Bundeswehr officer suspected of spying for the Russian Federation, stressed the need to further strengthen counterintelligence. He expressed his point of view to the German agency DPA.^[1]

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