Dutch secret services announced this Thursday (16) that they have blocked a Russian spy with a fake Brazilian ID from the International Criminal Court in The Hague, which is investigating possible war crimes committed by Moscow in Ukraine.
The Russian, identified as 36-year-old Sergey Vladimirovich Cherkasov, landed in the Netherlands last April with a Brazilian passport on behalf of 33-year-old Viktor Muller Ferreira.
According to the Dutch General Intelligence and Security Service (Aivd), he was said to be an agent of the Russian Armed Forces Intelligence Agency (GRU) and was trying to join the ICC as an intern.
Access to the court will be “invaluable” to Russian intelligence agencies due to investigations into the current occupation of Ukraine and the war in Georgia in 2008, according to Aivd.
“He would start his internship at the ICC, which means he would have access to the courthouse and its systems. He would be able to gather information, recruit resources and organize access to the ICC’s digital systems,” Aivd said.
Cherkasov was eventually deported to Brazil, where he was arrested by the Federal Police, according to AFP. “The GRU spent years creating this fake identity, it was a huge effort,” Aivd managing director Erik Akerboom added in an interview with Dutch agency ANP.
source: Noticias
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