British intelligence may have been leaked to Russia by a German ‘double agent’, says an expert

A German “double agent” has reportedly leaked British intelligence information about the war in Ukraine to Russia.

The suspect, known as “Carsten L.”, was arrested on December 21, 2022 for treason after a foreign agency found a German intelligence document among Russian data.

As head of the signals intelligence department of the German Federal Intelligence Service (BND), the spy had access to classified information from global intelligence departments, including sensitive battlefield information from Ukraine.

Erich Schmidt-Eenboom, an expert at the BND, told The Sunday Telegraph that the scandal will have a “profound impact” on the German agency’s relationships with partners abroad.

The British secret service is “very outraged” and will reconsider whether to continue providing top secret information to the BND.

German authorities arrested “Carsten L” late last year on charges of treason

BND President Bruno Kahl (pictured) said Russia could benefit from releasing more about the case

German authorities have placed an embargo on any information that could alert Russia to surrounding espionage activities.

Foreign intelligence chief Bruno Kahl said releasing more information about the case could benefit Russia.

Carsten L.’s motives remain unclear.

Federal prosecutors did not say whether information was shared with Russia before or after the February 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

Until relatively recently, Germany sought to develop closer ties with Russia, using trade routes and pipelines to ensure interdependence between the two states.

Germany changed its stance after Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny was poisoned with a nerve agent Novichok in Russia in August 2020.

Pressure mounted on Germany to cancel its controversial Nord Stream 2 natural gas pipeline, which connects Russia to Germany via the Baltic Sea.

The project was eventually halted by Chancellor Olaf Scholz in February 2022 after Russia recognized two breakaway regions in eastern Ukraine.

Shortly thereafter, the Chancellor acknowledged a new “turning point” that will bring about a change in German defense and security policy.

AfD leader Alice Weidel has blamed NATO and not Russia for the war in Ukraine

Experts warn that the scandal will affect the BND’s cooperation with partner intelligence services

Last year, Mr. Scholz provided 100 billion euros for the expansion of the German armed forces.

However, not everyone is in favor of a broader role for the Bundeswehr abroad.

On Friday, DW reported an increase in the number of German soldiers applying for exemption from deployment in combat zones compared to the previous year.

The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party has also sought Germany’s neutrality in the war in Ukraine, calling on Germany to reopen Nord Stream 2 and halt arms sales to Ukraine.

A source told The Telegraph that the BND is investigating whether Carsten L. had links to right-wing extremism in Germany after an AfD leaflet was found in the spy’s locker in Bavaria.

With the arrest of Carsten L., a BND employee was arrested for high treason for the first time since 2014.

Markus Reichel, a German triple agent, was sentenced to eight years in prison after leaking sensitive information to both the CIA and Russian intelligence.

The BND faced another scandal in 2015 after thieves broke into its then-unfinished Berlin headquarters – the “best guarded construction site” in Germany – removing faucets and flooding the building.