Czech Republic and allies dismantle Belarusian espionage network in Europe

2025-09-09 09:51:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

A spy network being built in Europe by Belarus has been dismantled by the intelligence services of the Czech Republic, Hungary and Romania, the Czech counterintelligence agency announced.

The Czech agency, known as BIS, said in a statement on Monday that a team of European agents discovered spies of the Belarusian security agency, the KGB, in several European countries.

The BIS announced that among them was a former deputy head of the Moldovan intelligence service SIS, who had handed over classified information to the Belarusian KGB.

The Czechs also expelled a Belarusian agent who was acting under the guise of a diplomat. The Czech Foreign Ministry said on Monday that he was given 72 hours to leave the Czech Republic.

The Czech agency emphasized that Belarus was able to create this network because its diplomats can travel freely across European countries.

"To successfully combat these hostile activities in Europe, we must restrict the movement of diplomats accredited by Russia and Belarus within the Schengen area," BIS head Michal Koudelka said in a statement.

The agency did not provide further details.

Romania's anti-organized crime agency, DIICOT, said on Monday it had executed an arrest warrant for a 47-year-old suspect on charges of treason. The suspect previously held senior positions within the Moldovan SIS. According to DIICOT, he is suspected of having disclosed state secrets to Belarusian intelligence officers, which likely "endangered national security."

The Romanian agency added that, between 2024 and 2025, the Moldovan suspect - who has not been identified - had met twice with Belarusian spies in Budapest, Hungary, and there are "reasonable suspicions" that the meetings were about "giving instructions" and exchanging payments for services provided.

The international investigation is being overseen by the European Union's agency for judicial cooperation, Eurojust.

Belarus is led by authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko, who is a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Lukashenko allowed Russia to use Belarusian soil as a base to launch a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, and later accepted the deployment of Russian tactical nuclear missiles./ REL