Russia's main intelligence agency says it has caught four British diplomats in a spy scheme worthy of James Bond for its use of bizarre gadgetry.
According to Russian television reports, a piece of equipment that can store and exchange classified information was hidden in a fake rock in Moscow Square, allowing alleged spies to upload and download information in broad daylight while appearing to do nothing more innocuous than use a cellphone or Blackberry.
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Russia's spy agency claims British diplomats planted this fake rock containing espionage equipment.
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Russia's Foreign Security Service, which called the spy rock "absolutely new spy technology," has also accused British diplomats of channelling funds to non-governmental organizations, NGOs, including one of the country's best-known human rights watchdogs.
On Sunday, Russian state television broadcast video that showed four British Embassy staff allegedly walking up to a rock to retrieve intelligence that had been uploaded by Russian agents.
"This is the first time we literally caught them red-handed in the process of contacting their agents here and received evidence that they finance a number of non-governmental organizations," security service spokesman Sergei Ignatchenko told the ITAR-Tass news agency.
Britain's Foreign Office has denied any improper conduct with Russian NGOs or fake rocks.
Russia's spy agency, which is a successor to the Soviet-era KGB, has had tempestuous relations with other foreign intelligence services, specifically accusing the U.S. and Britain of using NGOs to spy on Russia in an attempt to foment political upheaval in ex-Soviet republics.
The current spy crisis will be resolved "at a political level," possibly by expelling the British agents, said Ignatchenko.
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Black and white footage of the rock allegedly being retrieved.
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NGO members say Russia's allegations are just an attempt to justify a crackdown on their groups.
"This is an attempt to smear a well-known group with allegations of involvement in espionage activity," said Lyudmila Alexeyeva, a spokeswoman for Moscow Helsinki Group, a persistent critic of President Vladimir Putin.
"They are preparing public opinion for a government move to close us down, which they can now do under the new law."