The German Secret Service has launched investigations following suspicions that two leading officials in the economy ministry working on sensitive energy policy issues are Russian agents.
The two suspects work in “an especially sensitive area” related to the country’s energy policy, two German newspapers, Die Zeit and Handelsblatt, both reported, citing insider sources.
According to the reports, the ministry had passed the case onto the German secret service, the Office for the Protection of the Constitution, after suspicions had arisen internally.
The two had drawn attention to themselves by advocating and insisting on pro-Russian positions concerning key energy policy issues like the suspension of Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, and the nationalisation of the German Gazprom subsidiary Gazprom Germania. They allegedly showed public support to gas importer Uniper.
Contacted by Handelsblatt, a spokesperson for the economy ministry refused to comment on the case but said the ministry “always pursues any security-related evidence in close cooperation with the Secret Service, and immediately take all potentially necessary steps.”
They also said it is “clear, that the ministry’s work is particularly targeted.”
The Secret Service has also looked into the two suspects’ ties to Russia and found they had been on a study trip to Russia. The investigators also concluded that the suspects had “an emotional proximity to Russia.”
