KEY POINTS: What do we know so far about Sweden's new spy scandal?
Two Swedish-Iranian brothers have been charged with "aggravated espionage" for allegedly leaking information to Russian security services over a ten-year period. Why is this such a scandal, and what do we know so far?
What has happened?
On November 11th, Swedish prosecutors charged two Swedish-Iranian brothers - one a former intelligence official - with "aggravated espionage" for allegedly passing information to Russia's GRU military intelligence service between 2011 and 2021, before they were arrested in October last year.
Who are they?
The two brothers were identified in the charge sheet as Payam Kia, 35, and Peyman Kia, 42. According to Swedish media reports, they are of Iranian origin. Peyman Kia has served both in Sweden’s intelligence service Säpo and intelligence units in the Swedish army.
Why is this such a big scandal?
The older brother, Peyman Kia, has worked for some of the most top-secret organisations in Sweden.
According to the Dagens Nyheter (DN) newspaper, he at one point worked for the Office for Special Information Gathering (KSI), the most secret section of the military secret service. For context, even the name of the head of KSI is a state secret.
Peyman Kia is charged for passing information to Russia when he was employed in counter-espionage at Säpo and Must, Sweden’s military intelligence agency.
During his time at Säpo, Peyman Kia was reportedly emailed a list of the entire agency's staff, read a large amount of secret reports which he shouldn't have had access to, and worked as a mentor for newly hired staff, meaning he also had access to their documents, the Aftonbladet tabloid reported.
"It's a serious crime," prosecutor Mats Ljungqvist told DN. "This is someone who has worked for Säpo and the Armed Forces and has had access to sensitive information. But I can't say exactly how much damage this has caused."
He is accused of illegally acquiring information during his employment with Säpo and the armed forces.
The younger brother, Payam Kia, is meanwhile accused of “participating in the planning of the deed and handling contacts with Russia and the GRU, including the handover of information and receiving compensation”.
Between September 2016 and July 2017, Peyman Kia allegedly received the equivalent of at least 380,000 kronor in US dollar bills from foreign powers, with money also deposited to his accounts at Swedbank and Handelsbanken through cash deposit machines.
"There has been extensive handling of cash alongside regular income and that, together with a large amount of other information, proves how money has been transferred from GRU to them both," Ljungkvist told newspaper Dagens Industri.
Prosecutors have also discovered notes Peyman Kia made of encrypted online chat messages and of transactions in cash and gold. The other brother reportedly planned an escape route, a "backup plan", and wrote of meetings with an individual referred to as "Rasski".
How did they do it?
A large amount of information from the preliminary investigations is classified, but some details of the methods allegedly used by the brothers' to avoid Säpo's counter-espionage team are included.
According to Säpo, Peyman Kia used public toilets in Uppsala as "dead letterboxes", hiding documents under sinks and in maintenance cupboards where they were later collected by someone else.
Säpo also found a spy camera belonging to Payam Kia, designed to look like a car key.
Both brothers also had a large amount of encrypted material on computers and USB sticks. Säpo also discovered a hard disk in a bin after the older brother, Peyman, was arrested, which Payam Kia had destroyed and dumped. Parts of the hard disk were later recovered.
‘The most serious spy case in modern Swedish history’
The depth of penetration Peyman Kia appears to have achieved into Sweden’s intelligence agencies risks undermining the confidence of Sweden’s intelligence partners, the intelligence expert Wilhelm Agrell has told Sweden’s TT newswire.
“The worst thing that can happen is to have a partner who is leaking to your opponents,” he said. “This could have devastating consequences for mutual confidence in the relation.”
He said that the case could be even more serious than the cases of Stig Wennerström, who passed military secrets to the Soviet Union in the 1950s and early 1960s, and Stig Bergling, who was a spy in the 1970s, as neither of those two had penetrated Sweden’s intelligence agencies.
The extent of the damage, Agrell argued, depended on how early on Säpo had begun to suspect Kia and how they had acted on their suspicions.
"The spy brothers are going to be a permanent chapter in Sweden's spy history," David Bergman, doctor of psychology at Sweden's Defence University, told TT.
"It's not easy to carry out espionage on Säpo and Must," intelligence expert Joakim von Braun, who is a Russia specialist, added, "but if you succeed, the reward is very, very high."
Despite this, von Braun was not surprised to hear about the charges.
"Russia has carried out particularly extensive espionage against Sweden, especially since Putin took power."
Why did they do it?
Prosecutors were unable to comment on the motive behind the espionage - whether it was simply financial or if there was some other reason, nor how the brothers were recruited by Russia.
"We absolutely have a view on this, and that's part of the evidence we will present. However, due to confidentiality, I am unable to comment further," Ljungqvist told DN.
The pair, who risk life sentences if found guilty, have denied the allegations.
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What has happened?
On November 11th, Swedish prosecutors charged two Swedish-Iranian brothers - one a former intelligence official - with "aggravated espionage" for allegedly passing information to Russia's GRU military intelligence service between 2011 and 2021, before they were arrested in October last year.
Who are they?
The two brothers were identified in the charge sheet as Payam Kia, 35, and Peyman Kia, 42. According to Swedish media reports, they are of Iranian origin. Peyman Kia has served both in Sweden’s intelligence service Säpo and intelligence units in the Swedish army.
Why is this such a big scandal?
The older brother, Peyman Kia, has worked for some of the most top-secret organisations in Sweden.
According to the Dagens Nyheter (DN) newspaper, he at one point worked for the Office for Special Information Gathering (KSI), the most secret section of the military secret service. For context, even the name of the head of KSI is a state secret.
Peyman Kia is charged for passing information to Russia when he was employed in counter-espionage at Säpo and Must, Sweden’s military intelligence agency.
During his time at Säpo, Peyman Kia was reportedly emailed a list of the entire agency's staff, read a large amount of secret reports which he shouldn't have had access to, and worked as a mentor for newly hired staff, meaning he also had access to their documents, the Aftonbladet tabloid reported.
"It's a serious crime," prosecutor Mats Ljungqvist told DN. "This is someone who has worked for Säpo and the Armed Forces and has had access to sensitive information. But I can't say exactly how much damage this has caused."
He is accused of illegally acquiring information during his employment with Säpo and the armed forces.
The younger brother, Payam Kia, is meanwhile accused of “participating in the planning of the deed and handling contacts with Russia and the GRU, including the handover of information and receiving compensation”.
Between September 2016 and July 2017, Peyman Kia allegedly received the equivalent of at least 380,000 kronor in US dollar bills from foreign powers, with money also deposited to his accounts at Swedbank and Handelsbanken through cash deposit machines.
"There has been extensive handling of cash alongside regular income and that, together with a large amount of other information, proves how money has been transferred from GRU to them both," Ljungkvist told newspaper Dagens Industri.
Prosecutors have also discovered notes Peyman Kia made of encrypted online chat messages and of transactions in cash and gold. The other brother reportedly planned an escape route, a "backup plan", and wrote of meetings with an individual referred to as "Rasski".
How did they do it?
A large amount of information from the preliminary investigations is classified, but some details of the methods allegedly used by the brothers' to avoid Säpo's counter-espionage team are included.
According to Säpo, Peyman Kia used public toilets in Uppsala as "dead letterboxes", hiding documents under sinks and in maintenance cupboards where they were later collected by someone else.
Säpo also found a spy camera belonging to Payam Kia, designed to look like a car key.
Both brothers also had a large amount of encrypted material on computers and USB sticks. Säpo also discovered a hard disk in a bin after the older brother, Peyman, was arrested, which Payam Kia had destroyed and dumped. Parts of the hard disk were later recovered.
‘The most serious spy case in modern Swedish history’
The depth of penetration Peyman Kia appears to have achieved into Sweden’s intelligence agencies risks undermining the confidence of Sweden’s intelligence partners, the intelligence expert Wilhelm Agrell has told Sweden’s TT newswire.
“The worst thing that can happen is to have a partner who is leaking to your opponents,” he said. “This could have devastating consequences for mutual confidence in the relation.”
He said that the case could be even more serious than the cases of Stig Wennerström, who passed military secrets to the Soviet Union in the 1950s and early 1960s, and Stig Bergling, who was a spy in the 1970s, as neither of those two had penetrated Sweden’s intelligence agencies.
The extent of the damage, Agrell argued, depended on how early on Säpo had begun to suspect Kia and how they had acted on their suspicions.
"The spy brothers are going to be a permanent chapter in Sweden's spy history," David Bergman, doctor of psychology at Sweden's Defence University, told TT.
"It's not easy to carry out espionage on Säpo and Must," intelligence expert Joakim von Braun, who is a Russia specialist, added, "but if you succeed, the reward is very, very high."
Despite this, von Braun was not surprised to hear about the charges.
"Russia has carried out particularly extensive espionage against Sweden, especially since Putin took power."
Why did they do it?
Prosecutors were unable to comment on the motive behind the espionage - whether it was simply financial or if there was some other reason, nor how the brothers were recruited by Russia.
"We absolutely have a view on this, and that's part of the evidence we will present. However, due to confidentiality, I am unable to comment further," Ljungqvist told DN.
The pair, who risk life sentences if found guilty, have denied the allegations.
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