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The Netherlands’ Common Intelligence and Safety Service (AIVD) stated Thursday that it prevented a Russian spy from penetrating the Worldwide Felony Courtroom (ICC) in The Hague.
What do we all know to this point?
The person, recognized as 36-year-old Sergey Vladimirovich Cherkasov, had constructed up a false Brazilian id over years and was coming to the Netherlands earlier within the 12 months with a view to taking over an internship on the ICC. In keeping with investigators within the Netherlands, he was tied to Russia’s GRU company — a navy intelligence service.
Below the quilt title of Viktor Muller Ferreira, “he was imagined to start an internship with the ICC, which might imply he would have entry to the ICC’s constructing and methods,” the AIVD stated.
If Cherkasov would have succeeded to penetrate the ICC, “he would have been in a position to collect intelligence there and to search for (or recruit) sources, and organize to have entry to the ICC’s digital methods,” the company added. “He may need additionally been in a position to affect felony proceedings of the ICC.”
The ICC opened a probe into struggle crimes in Ukraine shortly after Russia’s invasion started in February. The ICC can also be conducting an investigation into Russia’s assault on Georgia in 2008.
“This was a long-term, multi-year GRU operation that price a whole lot of time, power and cash,” Dutch intelligence official Erik Akerboom stated.
Suspect despatched again to Brazil from Netherlands
In keeping with the Dutch, they noticed by way of his false id in April as he tried to enter the nation, denied him entry and put him “on the primary flight out” again to Brazil. Brazilian police additionally stated they arrested an unidentified man in April after he was denied entry to the Netherlands, which might be the identical particular person.
The Russian nationwide initially went to Brazil in 2010 the place he started establishing his cowl id, and had additionally resided in Eire and the US. Dutch intelligence alleges he had constructed an elaborate again story for his false id over a interval of 12 years.
Russia has not reacted to this point.
The ICC, which has been knowledgeable of the espionage try, instructed information company AFP that the court docket “may be very grateful to The Netherlands for this essential operation and extra typically for exposing safety threats.”
In 2018, the Netherlands caught and expelled 4 GRU operatives who sought to hack into the Group for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons’ Wi-Fi community.
wd/msh (Reuters, AP, AFP)
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