Has the Belgian colonel given Russia’s biggest NATO secrets to Russia? There has been no response for several years.

The Belgian colonel, it is true, can also be innocent: no court has proven guilty. But still, documents obtained by EUobserver show that Belgium has become a haven for both Ferrari spies and hookah smokers.

The website consulted documents describing what information the colonel might have collected almost daily.

Intelligence seems to be of concern: the military, according to leaked documents, knew as much about NATO’s strategy on the conflict in Ukraine, and probably about Russia’s submarines near Norway, and about the Alliance’s military operations and The EU.

And as the colonel knew, Russia also seemed to know: this army, as reported, had a right to access top-secret NATO data.

“Extremely serious damage”

NATO classified information is divided into four categories: NATO RESTRICTED, NATO CONFIDENTIAL, NATO SECRET and SUPERIOR COSMIC SECRET.

The last category implies the biggest secret, and it is precisely these documents and, in general, the information gathered after the meetings between the NATO summits or commanders, with which the Belgian colonel had the right to work.

NATO guidelines state that leaking the most sensitive information could cause “particularly serious damage” to the West.

A document, for example, states that the Belgian colonel had “full access” to the complexities of NATO’s defense policy with Belgium and its allies.

NATO guidelines state that leaking the most sensitive information could cause “particularly serious damage” to the West.

“This is especially important when it comes to the conflict in Ukraine and the Alliance’s policy towards Russia. It will participate in the deliberations on these issues. It knew about the movement of Russian forces in Ukraine and submarines in Norway,” the document said.

The colonel was also aware of NATO and EU foreign military operations, and as NATO and EU secrets normally circulate in the computer systems of member countries, he also had access to “all messages sent and received by the Belgian Army. “

“It goes without saying that if it really works for the Russians, it is very dangerous for our country and our allies,” said another document.

V.Putin, R.Kadyrov and SVR

The EU observer, as mentioned, does not publish the colonel’s identity, as he has never been convicted. However, it is precisely his possible fault that is being discussed in documents leaked by officials of the Belgian Internal Security and Counterintelligence Service (VSSE).

These reports, which date from 2014-2015, were based on testimonies from various informants. The suspects’ homes, none of them, were also monitored and their phone conversations were intercepted.

The reservist even had an American Express credit card, which was “powered” by a bank account in Chechnya.

The VSSE has shown suspicion of the colonel’s relationship with a Belgian reservist who works for the country’s military intelligence service (ADIV). Both men had become friends with the army, and the colonel was the godfather of the reservist’s son.

But Belgian spyhunters back then, 5-6 years ago, suspected that the reservist was spying on Russia.

VSSE documents say he belonged to a gang of diamond and fuel smugglers: a war with a Russian oligarch allegedly linked to Russian President Vladimir Putin, a Chechen gangster close to Ramzan Kadyrov, and a third man who is a Russian foreign intelligence officer. .

The reservist said he even had an American Express credit card, which was “powered” by a bank account in Chechnya.

The data was not decrypted

And when Belgian counterintelligence wanted to take an interest in a major colonel, it turned out that he had also accumulated a lot of wealth, the origin of which would be difficult to explain. In March 2015, a VSSE report stated: “A colonel is suspected of collaborating with the Russian authorities.”

In March of the same year, the military were allegedly caught talking on the phone about cooperation with Moscow.

One day ADIV abruptly fired a colonel’s fellow reservist and deprived him of the right to work with classified information. A source from the EU observer in Belgian intelligence said the reservist immediately called the colonel and asked for protection, but the latter quickly cut the conversation short.

Both UK and American intelligence have tried to help VSSE “unlock” the encrypted data.

“He (Colonel, editor) had put this whole little world into encrypted conversations and correspondence,” said the internal document released by VSSE in June 2015.

According to a source on the portal, both UK and US intelligence have attempted to help VSSE “unlock” the encrypted data.

But it failed: the information was hidden under a very intelligent padlock. And one day that “little Russian world” simply disappeared.

Belgium is small and the threat is high

Let’s fast forward today. The Belgian colonel assured the EUobserver that he still had the right to NATO classified information, but had already left the army.

In his 10-page letter, the colonel vehemently denied committing any crime, but declined to be quoted. He also denied interacting with encrypted backup phone lines and emphasized that Belgium had found him innocent in 2017 after an internal investigation.

Finally, the military admitted that they were very surprised that it took so long to defend his reputation.

The reservist, meanwhile, has never been tried in any way and is currently running a small business in Belgium.

NATO representatives at EUobserver said Belgium itself had to answer any questions; after all, the Belgians themselves have to take care of the security of international organizations based on the country’s territory by virtue of bilateral agreements.

The VSSE made no official comment on the colonel’s version. But a Belgian official privately supported the colonel, saying all reports of his suspicious activities were just a “glass storm.”

However, another EUobserver source suggested that the EU should not be too quick to minimize VSSE: “Belgium is relatively small and the threat is high. Spying on Russia, China. Belgian intelligence is smart, and our Western partners take it seriously. “

Walking on thin ice

On the other hand, even if the colonel is innocent, the leaked VSSE documents show that the so-called security environment in Belgium is really dangerous.

For example, a reservist fired from Russia for alleged espionage has opened a significant hole in ADIV’s operations abroad. The VSSE report claims that it knows the full list of reservists working in military intelligence.

“Some of these officials are active in Russia. If the Russian services discovered their identities, we would face a catastrophe,” the document warns.

Furthermore, leaked documents show that there is a secret world in Belgium in which agents like hostile western institutions plunge like fish into the water.

VSSE report: “Some of these officials are active in Russia. If the Russian services discovered their identities, we would face disaster. “

Suppose, as it turns out, that ADIV recruits agents like the aforementioned reservist who have significant contacts in Russia. These officers are encouraged to inform the Belgian authorities of their contacts.

A reservist who worked for ADIV, according to the documents, liked to brag about his acquaintances with the oligarchs, for example, with the former oil magnate, who now lives in the UK, Mikhail Khodorkovsky.

The latter once gave him a Ferrari, which Khodorkovsky did not like because of the color of the seats. It is true that Khodorkovsky himself told EUobserver that this was absolutely false.

Be that as it may, the reservist has in fact traveled more than once to Russia and post-Soviet countries. Along with the colonel, he has hunted antelopes, deer, and wolves in Austria, Belgium, and the Czech Republic.

And a friend of the reservist in Russia once bought him a night vision, but the gift got stuck at Belgian customs because the device was military.

Scandal last year

At the beginning of last year, Brussels was already shocked by an espionage scandal when General Clement Vandenborre, who headed ADIV’s counterintelligence department, was accused of spying on Russia.

He was reported to be no longer admitted to the workplace in February last year and has been under house arrest since late January.

Belgian federal prosecutors accuse the explorer of passing classified information to a Serbian woman, who is likely a Russian agent.

Watenborre is also accused of illegally destroying secret documents.

Vandenborre, who has worked for various Belgian military structures for 40 years, denies the charges against him.

There have long been concerns about security threats in Brussels. In an internal document last year, the EU’s foreign relations service said the city “employs around 250 Chinese agents and around 200 Russian spies.”

“Brussels has overtaken Vienna and there are more explorers from outside the EU,” said Peter Gridling, head of the BVT of the Austrian Internal Intelligence Service, in 2018.