One of the men detained last year and now charged with spying for Russia worked as a manager in the construction sector, and his professional duties made it easier for him to obtain information about the construction of new military facilities.
The Prosecutor’s Office told the news agency LETA that charges have now been formally brought and served against the 39-year-old man.
According to the indictment, acting out of ideological motives and on instructions from Russia’s military intelligence service (GRU), he illegally collected information on the locations of Latvian military sites, infrastructure facilities, their specific characteristics, security arrangements, the composition of NATO contingents, training activities, individual weapons, training locations, and other related sites.
Communication with the GRU was carried out using an account on the messaging application Telegram.
The Prosecutor’s Office confirmed that the man was employed as a manager in the construction sector, and that his job responsibilities facilitated the gathering of information about the construction of new military facilities and other military objects.
More detailed information will be provided by the Prosecutor’s Office after the completion of the pre-trial criminal proceedings.
As previously reported, this is one of the espionage cases that the State Security Service (VDD) referred for prosecution in December last year. The VDD detained the individual on August 27 last year, while the criminal proceedings against him were initiated on August 21.
The VDD has previously stated that the individual provided Russian intelligence with information about the construction of new military facilities and weapons depots.
Pre-trial detention has been imposed on the suspect as a security measure.
At the end of December last year, the VDD also urged the Prosecutor’s Office to initiate criminal prosecution in another case against a different Latvian citizen in connection with the illegal collection of information on Latvia’s defence sector on behalf of the GRU. In that case, charges have not yet been formally brought.
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