Germany to expel Russian diplomat on suspicion of espionage

The German government is expelling a Russian diplomat from the country on suspicion of espionage, Report informs referring to the German magazine Der Spiegel.

An employee of the Russian consulate in Munich, according to the publication, was declared persona non grata. It is assumed that the man was accredited as a diplomat, but in reality, he, as Germany believes, is an employee of the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service.

He is connected with the case of Russian national Ilnur N., who is suspected of spying for Russia in Germany, the magazine writes.

On January 27, the German Prosecutor General’s Office announced that it had accused Russian citizen Ilnur N. of espionage. According to the investigation, before his arrest, he worked as a researcher at the scientific and technical department of the university in Bavaria. The prosecutor’s office considered that at the latest in September 2019, Russian foreign intelligence established contact with him, and he agreed to engage in espionage.

German authorities believe that representatives of the intelligence service were interested, in particular, in the stages of development of space launch vehicle Ariane of the European Space Agency (ESA) and the research developments of the Russian national. The investigation showed that the Russian national received 2,500 euros.