23 Sep 2008
Estonian spy may have sold NATO secrets to Russia
Herman Simm, a high official in the Estonian department of defense who was arrested Sunday for “high treason,” allegedly sold NATO secrets to Russia says Estonian newspaper Postimees.
Postimees, which cited a number of unnamed sources, said authorities suspect Simm “divulged NATO’s greatest secrets to Russian intelligence.”
Another Estonian paper, Eesti Päevaleht, said the alleged spy lost access to sensitive documents after being moved to another government post in 2006. It was around this time Estonia informed Brussels they had detected a possible leak of NATO information to Russia through Tallinn.
Unnamed sources within the department of defense told journalists the fiasco was “extremely embarrassing.” Estonian President Toomas Hendrik Ilves, for his part called it “extremely regrettable.”
Simm’s wife, a lawyer working for Estonian police, was also arrested. The couple face charges that could lead to jail times of 15 years.