REVIEW TOPICS:
Russian citizen detained in Libya on suspicion in industrial espionage
Russian, Chinese economic espionage targeted at Germany's domestic secret service symposium
Illegal ammunition, arms storehouse revealed by Russian FSB in Vologda suburbs
New special-task unit to be created in State Protection Directorate of Ukraine
President of Ukraine meets with Foreign Intelligence Service functionaries
Ukraine’s SBU to check political parties bribing accusations
Belarus KGB agents discover German Panzerfaust – 30, cash of arms in Gomel
French military intelligence planned to kidnap Czechoslovak President in 1948
Georgian ex-minister says he met Russian agents, following President’s directives
More than twenty witnesses questioned in female spy case in Kyrgyzstan
Russian citizen detained in Libya on suspicion in industrial espionage
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| Lybia on the map |
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Alexander Tsygankov, the head of Libyan office of the Lukoil Overseas (subsidiary of the Russian LUKoil company), has been detained in Libya on suspicion in industrial espionage, online paper Vslukh.ru reports, referring to the adviser of embassy of Russia in Libya Anatoly Martynov. He was arrested the last weekend, however it became known only last night. The Russian consul in Lybia, Oleg Fomin, Tsygankov was detained several days ago but no formal charges have been brought against him, according to Interfax.
According to the official representative of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mikhail Kamynin, Russia considers that incident with detention in Libya of the Russian citizen, representative of Lukoil Overseas, will be settled in the near future. Employees of the Russian embassy of Russia in this country have already met Tsygankov who is in custody. Official charges have not been shown to him as yet. The Russian embassy is not ready to give official information on the exact reasons of Tsygankov’s detention. Some of the Russian mass media alledge that Tsygankov's detention is connected with the tender on 12 gas sites in Libya scheduled for December 9.
Russian, Chinese economic espionage targeted at Germany's domestic secret service symposium
Germany's domestic Verfassungsschutz (BfV) intelligence agency is holding a symposium in the western city of Cologne, focusing on the threat of economic espionage to the country titled Threat to the Economy in the Era of Globalization, news agency IRNA reports.
Intelligence and economic experts as well as business leaders were to discuss security threats posed by globalization to the German economy. Discussions were also to zoom on effective measures to counter economic spying which is harming Germany's status as the top lead nation in terms of global exports.
The latest secret service confab followed earlier remarks by German intelligence officials who accused China and Russia of massive economic and political espionage in Germany. The Russian Federation and the People's Republic of China are involved in large-scale political and economic spying activities in Germany, the head of the BfV counter-espionage division Burkhard Even was quoted saying in a recent interview with DPA. The top German security official stressed that Russia's secret service apparatus was still placing "highest priority on all facets of political espionage." "There is no contradiction for Russia's state leadership to pursue good political ties, while carrying on with the illegal collection of information in Germany," Even added.
According to the BfV official, Russia's political espionage is focusing on German foreign, domestic and economic policies as well as the nation's security and energy, NATO and European policies. Russian secret service agents are reportedly pinpointing German lawmakers and members of their bureaus as well as political parties and foundations for their spying activities, as AIA also reported last week.
The so-called 'Trojan' computer programs which enable the unnoticed spying of computers, had been discovered in several ministries earlier this year, the weekly Der Spiegel news magazine cited a probe by the BfV and the Federal Office for Information Technology Security. Chinese cyber spies snooped reportedly on computers in the chancellery, the foreign and economic ministry as well as the research ministry. According to the Verfassungschutz, China is continuing its efforts to plant Trojan programs via the Internet on German government computers, Der Spiegel said.
Illegal ammunition, arms storehouse revealed by Russian FSB in Vologda suburbs
A kilogram of plastic explosives, a trotyl checker and more than hundred armo-piercing cartridges was revealed in a illegal warehouse of ammunition in the suburbs of city of Vologda by the Russian Federal security Service (FSB) officers, regional radio Transmit reports.
In a thrown house, in the polyethylene sacks rewound by an adhesive tape, was stored the whole arsenal of weapons. The warehouse has been found out during operatively-search actions of the FSB staff members, radio marks. There were five pieces of plastic explosives, the trotyl checker, special cord and more than hundred armo-piercing-incendiary cartridges with a steel tip; they can be used or for Kalashnikov's machine gun, or for a sniper rifle, according to the FSB experts. Now the person who had stored the explosives and an ammunition, has been established and according to the FSB operatives, «does not represent danger to society». The person is a former army serviceman who has served with the Russian federal forces in the Chechen Republic. Now it should be found out for what purposes he had transported the dangerous cargo to Vologda, radio Transmit notes.
New special-task unit to be created in State Protection Directorate of Ukraine
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Valery Geletey |
The State Protection Directorate of Ukraine, responsible for safety of the higher state officials, will be renamed as the National Protection Service, online edition of daily Moskovsky komsomolets (MK) reports.
The corresponding bill has been prepared by the presidential secretariat and will be submitted to the new Supreme Rada (parliament) as priority issue, the head of the State Protection Directorate of Ukraine, Major-General Valery Geletey, has told the Kiev-based daily newspaper Segodnya. According to Geletey, his directorate would suffer structural variations as well. So, a special-task unit, similar to Alpha of the Security Service of Ukraine, Sokol and Berkut of the Ministry of Interior of Ukraine is to be created in the department. Geletey also added that the new unit which existed only on paper earlier will work now as group of rapid reaction in case of emergency situations. He also said that authoritative sportsmen-fighters and kickboxers have been already accepted to the new special-task unit of the State Protection Directorate of Ukraine, named Bulat. The unit is equipped with the Austrian-made Glock automatic pistols, Geletey added.
President of Ukraine meets with Foreign Intelligence Service functionaries
President of Ukraine Viktor Yushchenko met yesterday with functionaries of the Foreign Intelligence Service of Ukraine, news agency UNIAN reports, referring to the President`s press-office. Yushchenko congratulated them on the 16th anniversary of Service’s establishment and thanked them for their effective work. During the meeting President also presented national awards to Service’s functionaries, UNIAN saays.
President also set out basic guidelines of the Foreign Intelligence Service at present stage. As one of the main objectives he named intensification of systematic work aimed at revelation and analysis of main political and economic threats to Ukraine’s national security, news agency marks.
“Process of search for new markets for Ukrainian products requires concentrated and careful work. This is what economic interests of Ukrainian business and of the state itself require”, Yushchenko is cited by the UNIAN. He said he fully relied on patriotism, experience and professionalism of the agency’s staff members. President believes that that Foreign Intelligence Service is ready to take up to its functions stipulated by time requirements, news agency notes.
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SBU HQs in Kiev |
Ukraine’s SBU to check political parties bribing accusations
The Prosecutor’s General Office of Ukraine will probe into the statements about bribing Bloc of Yulia Tymoshenko lawmakers, news agency UNIAN reports from Kiev, referring to Prosecutor General of Ukraine Alexander Medvedko.
He pointed out that Bloc of Yulia Tymoshenko did not turn to Prosecutor’s General Office and stressed that he ordered his deputy to investigate whether the political party officials turned to Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), and whether the SBU gave a negative reply to the appeal.
At a press conference on 30 November, Bloc of Yulia Tymoshenko parliamentary faction member Sergei Sobolev claimed that in the nearest future the Bloc of Yulia Tymoshenko will pass to the SBU evidence of Party of Regions’ attempts to bribe Bloc of Yulia Tymoshenko lawmakers.
Belarus KGB agents discover German Panzerfaust – 30, cash of arms in Gomel
Servicemen of the State Security Committee of Belarus in Gomel area have withdrawn about 300 units of weapons and an ammunition, news agency Interfax-West reports, referring to the press group of the KGB regional directorate.
"As a result of carrying out of operatively-search measures cashes of firearms and ammunition of of the Second World War times were discovered in one of villages of Dobrushsk district of Gomel area", Interfax-West is quoting a KGB spokesperson as saying.
The KGB officials have noted that among artillery shells, grenades and detonators, operatives have revealed a Panzerfaust - 30 German grenade launcher of unitary use ready for action.
French military intelligence planned to kidnap Czechoslovak President in 1948
French military intelligence and exiled Czechs intended to fly out Czechoslovak President Edvard Benes from under the noses of his communist guards in 1948, Prague-based daily Lidove Noviny reported.
According to Czech exile Radomir Luza, he and a French military intelligence officer came up with the idea of "kidnapping" the Czechoslovak President and former World War II exiled leader during their meeting in the French-occupied zone of Austria in March 1948. They wrote a memorandum to General Émile Béthouart (Hight Commissioner of France in Austria) and spoke to his chief of staff. Soon they got a reply that the French government supported the plan.
Benes’ political assistant Jan Jina was a good friend of Josef Cisar, Luza’s colleague. Through the spouse of Jina and Cisar’s wife Maria, who stayed in Prague, they got in touch with the former President. Communists did not manage to reveal these contacts. Communication on the border was supervised by the French intelligence. The main problem was how to get Benes out of Czechoslovakia. The communists had taken power in Czechoslovakia a month earlier and the non-communist Benes was under close guard, Lidove Noviny marks. The French proposed to send a small three-seater plane. The plan was that the plane would take Benes to the French zone in Austria. The main thing was to discuss every detail with Benes himself. That’s why Luza attempted to return to Czechoslovakia, however, already on the territory of nowadays Slovakia he faced armed guards who opened fire at him and Luza escaped back to Austria. Luza with a companion entered Czechoslovakia on July 2 at Znojmo then took a train to Jilhlava, then Brno. The particular plan was to be discussed with Benes to send the plane in an appropriate time. Then tey had to return to the French and report back on the results.
Benes lived in Sezimova Usti and in the midday used to go out by his car. The plot was to use
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| Edvard Benes |
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imitation of breakdown in the President's car during one of his daily trips to get him and his wife by a Cisar’s Tatra car on to the nearby French plane. However, when Luza arrived to Cisar’s wife to Prague, she told him that Benes would not be able to leave as his health condition had agravated.
Luza himself escaped across the border to Austria and then moved on to Paris where he worked for French intelligence until he left for the United States in 1953.
Benes, one of the founding fathers of Czechoslovakia in 1918, was Czechoslovak President in 1935-38 and in 1945-48. First he abdicated after the signing of the Munich Agreement, when part of the country was given to Nazi Germany. Benes also headed the Czechoslovak government in British exile during World War Two. After the war he issued decrees under which some 2.5 million ethnic Germans and many Hungarians were transferred from the country, mainly the border regions (Sudetenland), and their property was confiscated.
Benes resigned following the Communist coup in February 1948 as Czechoslovak President in June, 1948, due to his deteriorating health and died in September. He was succeeded by Communist leader Klement Gottwald.
"It would not have taken much for Czechoslovak history in 1948 to have taken a completely different turn," Lidove Noviny concluded.
Georgian ex-minister says he met Russian agents, following President’s directives
Former state minister of Georgia on settlement of conflicts, the representative of the incorporated opposition, George Khaindrava has announced that he had met the Russian diplomats declared «persona non gratae», while accomplishing his official duties, Moscow-based daily newspaper Vzglyad reports.
In November, the Georgian special services have publicised video-and audio records of meetings and negotiations of Khaindrava with the Russian diplomats in Tbilisi. These meetings were taking place in 2005 when Khaindrava was the State minister. After publicisizing of these materials several Russian embassy staff members were named spies and were extradited from Georgia, according to Vzglyad.
Khaindrava told the press that he had met the Russian diplomats by virtue of his official duties, concerning settlement of conflicts. He said these meetings had been carried out following directives and on the behalf of President Mikhail Saakashvili. The ex-minister noted that the government of Georgia had sent him to negotiate the settlement with them. «If those people were spies, it is necessary to ask for explanation from the Interior Minister Ivan Merabishvili who has not warned me. And if I was a criminal, how was it possible that I was allowed to signed documents and took those or other obligations on the behalf of Georgia?», Khaindrava asked, according to newspaper Vzglyad.
More than twenty witnesses questioned in female spy case in Kyrgyzstan
Pervomaisk district court of the Kyrgyzstan capital has been continuing proceedings in criminal case of charge of high treason against the senior adviser of the press service of the Kyrgyz parliament Zhyparkul Arykova and of espionage against the citizen of People’s Republic of China Ismail Usek, news agency 24.kg reports.
More than twenty witnesses have been already questioned in the case, including senior staff members of the Kyrgyz parliament (Zhogorku Kenesh), 24.kg says referring to one of lawyers, Ayzhan Kasymaliyeva. The lawsuit is being reviewed behind the closed donors, news agency adds. In opinion of Kasymaliyeva, judge Almaz Moldobayev «is quite unbiased, tries to scrutinize all details of the charges and the collected proofs, has been conducting the lawsuit impartially».
According to the lawyer’s assumption, the verdict accused can be announced already about the middle of December, 2007.
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