Spy couple’s suspected dealings with the ex-Russian military

With the help of two Black Hawk helicopters, Sabo and the National Task Force attacked the villa in the Stockholm area on Tuesday morning.

A couple in their 60s, with roots in Russia, was arrested. The man has been suspected of gross illegal intelligence activities for ten years and the woman of aiding and abetting. Both deny any wrongdoing.

Among other things, the crime must have occurred through “meetings with business contacts” across the companies the man and woman were involved in during their time in Sweden.

He traveled a lot to Russia

One of the companies liquidated in 2020, it dealt in transistors and other technical equipment, according to information by SVT. The business must have been in progress for a long time and the man must have made frequent trips to Russia.

In 2012, ownership in the company changed hands when all shares were sold to a company based in Cyprus. According to official documents, the Cypriot company was controlled by a 75-year-old Russian citizen. A man says on social media that he has a military background Aftonbladet was the first with reporting. It was also listed on a site for former cadets in Russia.

The SVT review also shows that in the 1980s the Russian man was chosen as an officer of the Soviet intelligence service GRU, according to information published, among other things, by the American authorities. In connection with this, he was also expelled as a diplomat from a European country.

It is unclear if the former Russian military’s role in the Swedish company was connected to Sabo’s campaign against the now-suspected couple.

Under review by the FOI

The Total Defense Research Institute, FOI, also took a closer look at the company as part of its review of Russian investments and financial interests.

– We thought it was interesting because it was a company that dealt with sensitive technology. We looked at whether there could be any technology transfer, says Oskar Almen, project manager and researcher at FOI.

Early in 2016, the couple came into focus at the Swedish Tax Agency when the authority suspected their company of VAT fraud. It involved deals with a European technology company that also has close ties to a company identified in The so-called mobile clutter With suspicion of VAT fraud in the billions.

The couple’s business largely revolved around trade with Russia. In another corporate annual report, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and broad sanctions against Russia were stated to “involve significant uncertainty for future operations”.

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