Free Republic

"The ICC was of particular interest to Russia in March 2022, after it received numerous public referrals regarding human rights violations committed by Russia and its agents during its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022," the criminal complaint says. But Cherkasov was refused entry as he arrived to start the internship. He was arrested days later in Brazil for fraud. The criminal complaint does not say what tipped off Dutch intelligence to Cherkasov's alleged espionage.

His name is Carsten Linke and he was recently promoted to a top post in Germany’s intelligence service, the B.N.D. The NY Times reports he was the “director of technical reconnaissance — the unit responsible for cybersecurity and surveilling electronic communications.” He was also a double-agent being paid cash to pass information to Russia. He was apparently asked for specific information on the location of US HIMARS launchers in Ukraine:Russia’s FSB spy service asked Carsten Linke last autumn via a courier to pass on precise information on the positioning of the Himars and Iris-T rocket systems that had been supplied...