Swedish Spy Scandal: Iranian Brothers Charged with Spying for Russia

Two brothers born in Iran have been charged with spying on behalf of Russia in Sweden for ten years, with one of the brothers having held jobs in the Swedish Security Police (Sapo) and the Swedish armed forces.

The two brothers, who were born in Iran, have been in custody since their arrest last year and are accused of engaging in espionage activities on behalf of Russia for around ten years between September 2011 and September 2021.

Initially, it was not clear who the men may have been passing along their information to, but now Swedish prosecutors have named the pair’s alleged client as the Russian Main Intelligence Directorate, better known by the abbreviation GRU, broadcaster SVT reports.

“The security police have been conducting a preliminary investigation against a suspected spy for a long time. An insider, a mole in the Swedish Security Police and the Armed Forces. The suspicion has been that the unknown person has passed on to a foreign power,” prosecutor Mats Ljungqvist said.

“We claim that these two people have reached the GRU, the Russian military intelligence service. We claim that this crime is directed against Sweden’s intelligence and security services,” he added.

The older of the two brothers, now aged 40, is the main suspect in the case. He was working as a senior government official at the time of his arrest last year. He had previously worked for Sapo, Swedish military intelligence, and the Office for Special Acquisition (KDI), a secretive branch of the Swedish security forces tasked with recruiting sources and defectors from foreign spy agencies.

The younger brother, meanwhile, is accused of being in contact with GRU and receiving cash. He also once worked at Sapo though it is unclear whether both brothers worked at the agency at the same time.

Earlier this year, it was announced that the pair would be facing trial but that the trial would not be open to the public.

Both of the brothers have denied the charges against them.

Follow Chris Tomlinson on Twitter at @TomlinsonCJ or email at ctomlinson(at)breitbart.com.