Germany charges former reserve officer with spying for Russia

BERLIN, April 1 (Xinhua) -- The German Public Prosecutor General said on Friday that it had filed charges against a former Bundeswehr reserve officer who allegedly supplied a Russian intelligence agency with information between 2014 and 2020.

The accused man, who was a member of several German business committees, was suspected of having leaked information and documents from the military, as well as insights concerning the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, according to the prosecutor.

Nord Stream 2, which was only completed in 2021, was constructed to transport Russian gas to Germany. Chancellor Olaf Scholz halted the certification process before the gas pipeline went into operation after the Russia-Ukraine conflict broke out in February.

The German Public Prosecutor General also accused the man of providing personal data and contact information of "high-ranking members of the Bundeswehr and from the business community."

In return for his services, he received "invitations to events organized by Russian government bodies," according to the prosecutor.