Double-agent may have passed British secrets to Russians
British and American military secrets may have been passed to the Russians by a double agent in what Western espionage chiefs fear could be the biggest spy scandal since CIA traitor Aldrich Ames was caught selling intelligence to Moscow in the 1990s.
By Nick Squires
Published: 9:34PM GMT 17 Nov 2008
An investigation by Nato, the United States and the EU has been launched to ascertain the extent of the alleged betrayal by Herman Simm, 61, an Estonian defence ministry official who spymasters believe may have been working as a Russian agent for a decade.
It is feared that Simm, who as one of the Baltic country's most senior defence officials had access to highly sensitive Nato information, passed to the Russians classified information on cyber defence, Nato operations in Afghanistan and the Balkans, and the US missile shield.
Russia accused of 'annexation' of Georgia provincesAmerican spymasters are working with their European counterparts to probe the extent of what appears to be a massive breach of Western defence security.
"The longer they work on the case, the more obvious it becomes how big the impact of the suspected treachery really is," Germany's Der Spiegel magazine commented.
Russia's successful penetration of Western intelligence by way of Simm was a "catastrophe" according to a German official.
Simm – described by one Estonian newspaper as "a gold card operative" – was arrested in September and charged with supplying information to a foreign power. His wife Heete, who previously worked as a lawyer at Estonia's national police headquarters in the capital Tallinn, was also detained – charged with being an accessory to treason.
Simm was recruited by the Russians in the mid-1990s, according to Jaanus Rahumaegi, who heads Estonia's parliamentary control commission for the security services.
It seems he was motivated more by money than ideology. He received millions of dollars from was the Russians for his information and came under suspicion after buying up land and property, including a rural retreat on the Baltic coast and a handsome villa on the outskirts of Tallinn.
His secret life as a double agent was ultimately uncovered when his Russian 'handler' tried to recruit a second agent, who promptly reported the matter to Estonia's security services.
Simm regularly travelled to western Europe to take part in talks on how to ensure the security of secret information. Estonia is a leader in information technology, encouraging its citizens to pay their taxes and vote online.
US and Nato chiefs are grappling with an even worse nightmare – that Simm, who for years was in charge of granting security clearance to Estonian intelligence agents, could have put in place other spies working for Moscow.
The depth of Simm's alleged betrayal, and the fact that he reportedly worked with his wife in passing on secrets, has evoked memories of Aldrich Ames, the former head of the CIA counter-intelligence department who was one of Russia's most successful 'moles' in the US.
Simm is likely to be formally arraigned in the new year. If found guilty he could face up to 15 years in prison. Neither he nor his lawyers have commented on the accusations.
The case is a deep embarrassment to Nato, and a measure of the efforts Russia will go to in order to retain some influence in the Baltic states. Nato has so far refused to comment on the case.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldne ... sians.html
Aranha is on the offensive because Delhi probably knows they can't convict.
