Intelligence services embarrassed by new controversy
Switzerland's intelligence services are at the centre of a new controversy. Senior officials in the defence ministry have confirmed that a memorandum including names of part-time agents has been leaked to the media.
Switzerland’s intelligence services are at the centre of a new controversy. Senior officials in the defence ministry have confirmed that a memorandum including names of part-time agents has been leaked to the media. The special agents are said to include leading figures from the Swiss world of business and finance.
The SonntagsBlick newspaper said the circular ordering informants to exercise discretion if approached by the media was issued in response to a newspaper report naming the head of Switzerland’s national bank, Jean-Pierre Roth, as a special agent.
The newspaper suggests that secret service chiefs mistakenly believed that the media was already in possession of a full list of special agents when it put out the circular.
The latest controversy comes on the heels of last year’s Bellasi affair, a massive fraud scandal that raised questions about the way the intelligence services are run.
From staff and wire reports
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