COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — Two Iranian-born brothers have been charged in Sweden with nuisance espionage for allegedly spying for Russia and its GRU army intelligence service for about a decade, prosecutors said Friday. One of the men worked for Swedish national intelligence. agency.
Authorities knew them as Peyman Kia, 42, and Payam Kia, 35. One of the brothers was also charged with alleged unauthorized serious manipulation of secret information.
“This is a complex investigation into a crime that is very complicated to investigate and the suspicions relate to a very serious crime directed against the Swedish security and intelligence system,” said the chief prosecutor of the National Security Unit, Per Lindqvist.
“What has been obtained, transmitted and disclosed could, by falling into the hands of a foreign power, undermine Sweden’s security,” Lindqvist said in a statement.
He later told The Associated Press that the case was “extremely sensitive,” but declined to elaborate.
According to the indictment received through the Palestinian Authority, the men “jointly” passed data to the intelligence service of the Russian GRU army between September 28, 2011 and September 20, 2021.
He added that knowledge gained through the paintings of one of the men from Sweden’s national intelligence firm and the country’s armed forces. The knowledge comes from various governments within the Swedish security and intelligence services.
His brother contributed to contacts with “Russia and the GRU, adding problems of data disclosure and receiving compensation. “According to the charges, Payam Kia “disassembled and broke a hard drive that he later discovered in a trash can” when his brother was arrested. .
The case was investigated through Sweden’s internal security service, SAPO. Swedish prosecutors said much of the data from the initial investigation was secret and may simply not provide details.
SAPO said it was suspicious of the former worker and that an initial investigation was opened in 2017. Lindqvist said the investigation was opened “because there was a suspicion that there was a mole, an infiltrator” within the Swedish intelligence community.
The national spy firm showed that Peyman Kia worked there between 2014 and 2015, and before that he worked in the Swedish armed forces.
Swedish media said he worked for the armed forces’ foreign defense intelligence firm MUST and allegedly worked with a top-secret MUST unit that dealt with Swedish spies abroad. He then worked for Swedish Customs.
“The alleged crime is a threat that each and every security service is well aware of, we are doing everything we can to counter it,” said SAPO’s Anders Kassman.
Peder Ohlsson, head of the armed forces’ press service, called the crimes “very serious. “
Swedish Defense Minister Pål Johnson said he had been briefed on the case and declined to comment.
The brothers became Swedish citizens in 1994, and Expressen quoted one of the men who spoke fluent Persian. The younger brother allegedly worked for SAPO, Swedish media reported.
They were arrested in September and November 2021. Both have denied wrongdoing, Swedish media reported. The brothers face life in prison if convicted. A life sentence in Sweden means a minimum of 20 to 25 years in prison.
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