Germany warns Russia uses organized crime for assassinations and sabotage
The German government warned that Russian intelligence services are increasingly outsourcing assassination and sabotage operations to organized crime networks, citing the benefit of "plausible deniability" for the Kremlin. The warning came in a response to a parliamentary inquiry by the Greens, seen by the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. Marcel Emmerich, the Greens' interior expert, said the growing ties between Russian state structures and criminal actors pose a threat to Germany's internal security.
The German government warned that Russian intelligence services are increasingly outsourcing assassination and sabotage operations to organized crime networks, citing the benefit of "plausible deniability" for the Kremlin.
The warning came in a response by the German Interior Ministry to a parliamentary inquiry by the Greens, seen by the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. The ministry wrote that Russian intelligence services are outsourcing disruptive activities such as sabotage and assassination operations to organized crime. It said the Russian-Eurasian organized crime networks have close ties to the Russian government and are tolerated in exchange for cooperation. The ministry added that there are indications of such connections in Germany.
The German government cited the advantage of "plausible deniability" for the Kremlin when using criminals rather than full-time intelligence officers. Unlike with full-time intelligence officers, the Kremlin can more easily deny responsibility for an action even if the perpetrators are caught or identified, the ministry wrote. Criminals also possess "usable skills" for sabotage and killing operations, it added.
Marcel Emmerich, the Greens' interior expert who submitted the parliamentary question, warned that the interweaving of Russian state structures, intelligence services and organized crime is a growing threat to Germany's internal security. He called for an overarching strategy to counter hybrid threats and a national situation report on espionage, sabotage, cyberattacks and covert influence. Emmerich also proposed reviewing whether the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution should receive additional responsibilities for combating organized crime.