Portuguese spy arrested for passing NATO secrets to Russia
In Rome, state security officials arrested a Portuguese citizen who provided Russian intelligence officials with secret documents from NATO. A Russian citizen was also arrested, as reported by Expresso on May 23rd.
The arrested person was a Portuguese citizen, Frederico Carvalhão, who is a member of Portugal’s SIS intelligence service. He was accused of selling sensitive information relating to NATO and the European Union.
It was mentioned that Carvalhão had been leaving Portugal in order to meet Russian handlers in different European countries since 2014.
On Friday, May 20th, Carvalhão flew to Rome and met with a Russian whose name was not reported. Italian police, with assistance from Portuguese intelligence officers, arrested him in the act of passing documents to the Russian intelligence officer, who was also arrested as he had no diplomatic immunity.
“As a result of the excellent coordination between the public prosecutor, the judicial police, the SIS, and the level of international cooperation with the Italian authorities, two people were arrested in Rome for alleged espionage crimes, corruption and a violation of state secrecy,” the statement of the Portuguese police reads.
Documents and cash were found and seized from Carvalhão's home in Lisbon. The operation which resulted in these arrests began last year and involved the Italian intelligence service as well.