Swiss prosecutors investigate suspected Russian spy
The Office of the Attorney General (OAG) is looking into a Russian agent and two others suspected of violating several laws. One arrest warrant has been issued.
The Federal Office of Justice (FOJ) authorised the OAG to go ahead with prosecutions in this sensitive case, the latter told the Keystone-SDA news agency on Saturday, thus confirming a report in the Tages-Anzeiger newspaper.
The OAG, together with the Federal Office of Police (Fedpol) and the police, had already carried out house searches in several cantons prior to the decision. The men are alleged to have violated the War Material Act, the Embargo Act and the Goods Control Act.
+ Read more: Switzerland’s ‘hands-off’ approach to spies
The OAG asked the foreign ministry to waive the diplomatic immunity of one of the three accused, it said. This immunity lapsed when the person definitively left the country. An arrest warrant has been issued for the individual, which could be acted upon if he re-enters Switzerland.
According to the Tages-Anzeiger, the Federal Intelligence Services (FIS) had previously monitored a Russian representative stationed in Bern. The accredited diplomat is said to have been a spy with the aim of procuring weapons and other potentially dangerous material.
The agent left Switzerland under diplomatic cover after this was requested by Switzerland, the Tages-Anzeiger reports. Overall, the case was handled discreetly: rather than summoning the Russian ambassador in Bern, the affair was dealt with via other channels, the foreign ministry told the paper, without giving further details.
Adapted from German by DeepL/dos
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