8 August 1999. Thanks to SE.
Date: Sun, 08 Aug 1999 15:14:11 +0200
From: Stephan Eisvogel
<eisvogel@hawo.stw.uni-erlangen.de>
Organization: HAWO
The following text is paraphrased and translated into English from German news magazine FOCUS (http://www.focus.de) and DPA news agency. It's headline news on most tv and radio stations in the country.
Stephan Eisvogel
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(Hamburg/Munich)
A German-Russian espionage case involving two German citizens and top secret Eurofighter missile technology was uncovered two weeks ago. Peter S., a 52 year old engineer at 'Lenkflugkoerper-Systeme GmbH' (a DASA subsidiary) and Michael K., a 39 year old merchant have been arrested in Ottobrunn near Munich and Hannover Airport on charges of spying for the Russian secret service.
According to FOCUS the material involves top secret Eurofighter missile technology, sensitive studies about improvements in missile hit accuracy and also anti-tank technology. According to FOCUS, engineer Peter S. leaked the documents to his accomplice Michael K., who in turn traveled to Moscow several times to sell them.
The case is being investigated by German Federal Attorney of State to assess the damage. The German ambassador to Russia in Moscow will file a note of protest with the Russian government shortly. The German government has not released a statement so far.
Head of the German 'Bundestagsinnenausschuss' Willfried Penner (SPD) told the newspaper Neuen Osnabrücker Zeitung that it is intolerable for Germany to aid Russia financially and to be spied upon 'in exchange'. If this point cannot be put across to the Russian government the German government will have to rethink its financial commitment to Russia.
Penner also said that the recent arrests are only the tip of the iceberg. Because of its high-tech industry, Germany is a formidable target for eastern as well as western agencies. The damage caused by espionage is estimated at 40 billion DEM p.a.
As a side note, DPA quotes the renowned intelligence expert Erich Schmidt-Eenboom saying that the German government should quickly take active steps to stop the 'drastically intensified' espionage attempts of the USA.
According to Schmidt-Eenboom, the CIA has 'turned' important spies of the former GDR agency 'Staatsicherheit' (Stasi) in West-Germany, who now work for the CIA. In addition to Great Britain, he names Austria and Switzerland as the latest important allies for the CIA.
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