Russian spy held for trying to enter war crimes court in Netherlands, sent back to Brazil
Follow UsStory highlights
In a statement, the Dutch General Intelligence and Security Service (AIVD) said the man, who went by the alias Viktor Muller Ferreira, was nabbed at a Dutch airport. He was put on the next flight back to Brazil on being declared an undesirable alien, it added
A Russian military agent seems to have been found to use a false identity for infiltrating the Hague-based International Criminal Court (ICC), the Dutch intelligence service said on Thursday. ICC probes the accusations of war crimes around the world. An elaborate and long cover story was created by Sergey Vladimirovich Cherkasov for looking to enter the Netherlands for an internship at the ICC as a Brazilian national, the agency's chief told Reuters. Dutch intelligence agency chief Erik Akerboom said, "This was a long-term, multi-year GRU operation that cost a lot of time, energy and money." GRU is the military intelligence service of Russia.
In a statement, the Dutch General Intelligence and Security Service (AIVD) said the man, who went by the alias Viktor Muller Ferreira, was nabbed at a Dutch airport. He was put on the next flight back to Brazil on being declared an undesirable alien, it added.
WATCH WION LIVE HERE
In Brazil, Cherkasov has been taken into custody and is being prosecuted for using false documents, federal police said. "It clearly shows us what the Russians are up to - trying to gain illegal access to information within the ICC. We classify this as a high-level threat," Akerboom added.
"Cherkasov used a well-constructed cover identity by which he concealed all his ties with Russia in general, and the GRU in particular," the statement said.