German army reserve charged with SPYING for Russia by handing over details for army bosses

An officer in the German army reserve has been charged with being a Russian spy after allegedly passing information to Vladimir Putin‘s intelligence services for six years. 

‘Ralph G’ is suspected of passing on to his Russian handlers the ‘personal data of high ranking members of the Bundeswehr’ and figures from the business world, ‘including contact details’.

He is also accused of leaking information on a variety of sensitive areas for the Federal Republic of Germany, including the German military’s reserves, ‘civil defence’, the impact of sanctions on Russia in 2014, and the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline project between Russia and Germany, the federal prosecutor’s office said in a statement.

Ralph G had been ‘in contact with a Russian intelligence service through various people since October 2014 at the latest’, prosecutors said.

Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a concert marking Russian Security Service Officer Day, in Moscow, accompanied by his spy chiefs Alexander Bortnikov, left, and Sergey Naryshkin, right, 19 December 2019

Leopard 2 main battle tanks of the German Bundeswehr accompanied by a Puma armored personnel carrier during training on December 6, 2018 in Munster, Germany.  Reserve officer ‘Ralph G’ is accused of passing on ‘personal data of high ranking members of the Bundeswehr’

Terminal facilities for where the controversial Nord Stream 2 gas pipline between Russia and Germany makes landfall in Lubmin, Germany, pictured March 7, 2021

Until March 2020, the suspect is said to have passed Russian spies ‘documents and information on numerous occasions’, relating both to the army reserve and business.

Alongside his role in the reserve, the suspect “belonged to several German business committees” thanks to his civilian profession.

‘In return for his services, the accused received invitations to events organised by the Russian government agencies,’ prosecutors said.

Ralph G. is the latest in a string of suspected Russian spies uncovered on German soil.

Russian scientist Ilnur Nagaev is currently standing trial accused of spying for Moscow while working at a German university.

Nagaev, who was stopped by authorities last year, is accused of having shared information about Europe’s Ariane space rocket programme with Russia’s foreign intelligence service SVR.

In October 2021, a German man was handed a two-year suspended sentence for passing on floor plans of parliament buildings to Russian secret services while employed by a security company.

Last August, a former employee of the British embassy in Berlin was arrested on suspicion of having passed on documents to Russian intelligence.