Russia names CIA's Moscow station chief after capture of alleged U.S. spy
- Russia identifies U.S. embassy diplomat as head of intelligence in Moscow
- Revelation follows capture of Agent Blond - undercover diplomat Ryan Fogle
- Letter allegedly found on Ryan Fogle offers agent $1million per year to defect
- U.S. ambassador was summoned to Russian foreign ministry to explain
- Photos of his belongings show Fogle was in possession of two wigs, three pairs of sunglasses, a microphone, a knife and plenty of money
By Will Stewart
PUBLISHED:| UPDATED:
Russia's Federal Security Bureau has breached protocol to name the man they say is in charge of the CIA's work in Moscow.
A spokesman for the bureau named the CIA's 'rezident' while speaking to Russian media about the capture of alleged spy Ryan Fogle.
The diplomat's name matched that of a U.S. embassy counsellor in a recent directory of foreign officials in Moscow, reports the Daily Telegraph.
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Arrested: The US diplomat was pinned to the ground and arrested by the Russian agent he was trying to recruit
Claims: The FSB counter intelligence service said the envoy, a third secretary in the political section of the American embassy was caught red handed seeking to recruit a Russian intelligence officer
It is customary for Russia and the U.S. to tell each other who their top embassy officials are, and the move is likely to provoke anger in Washington.
The two countries agreed to work together to share intelligence for the investigation into the Boston Marathon bombings.
The alleged bombers, brothers Dzhokhar and Tamerlan Tsarnaevas, are said to have links to Russia's North Caucasus region.
Embarrassment for the CIA's wig-wearing Agent Blond deepened this week as it was revealed he was detained by the very FSB officer he was seeking to recruit.
Undercover diplomat Fogle has been mercilessly mocked on the web both in Russia and the West for his apparently amateurish Boy's Own approach to espionage in Moscow.
But the FSB claimed that the Russian anti-terrorism expert he was hoping to lure to treachery wasted no time in personally apprehending him, pinning him to the ground, and handing him over to the authorities.
Detained: The FSB said Fogle was in possession of two floppy wigs, three pairs of glasses, a map of Moscow and a folding knife when he was detained
Seized: After his arrest, he was taken to the FSB headquarters at the Lubyanka, in Moscow, and later handed over to the US embassy in keeping with diplomatic protocols
'The man behaved like an officer worthy of his name, detaining the recruiter and handing him over to counterintelligence authorities' said an FSB source yesterday.
'He will continue to serve. There is no threat to his career.'
The Russians have not named the target of the CIA approach but he is believed to be a specialist in terrorism linked to extremist Islamic groupings.
Fogle called him seeking a meeting at which he intended to recruit him, it is claimed.
Instead he ended up face on the ground, and handcuffed, before being taken to the notorious Lubyanka HQ of the secret services for questioning.
More...
- Russia's CIA spy bust 'was linked to Boston Bombing': U.S diplomat was trying to recruit Dagestan expert who travelled to terrorist’s home town when he was arrested
- Ryan Fogle was the 'second covert CIA agent expelled from Russia this year' as part of the security service's surveillance of suspected American operatives
FBI agents first came across the Russian agent when they were given assistance by Moscow over the Boston marathon bombings, it is understood.
Fogle, 29, a third secretary in the embassy's political department, was detained wearing a blond wig under his baseball cap while on a mission to recruit the FSB operative on the night of May 13.
In his possession, Fogle had another wig, a compass, a map of Moscow, sunglasses, and a 'Dear Friend' letter - apparently translated into Russian on Google - which offered $1million a year plus bonuses to the FSB man.
Fogle has been ordered to leave Russia in the next few days following his return to U.S. representatives in the city.
Statement: 'Recently, the US intelligence service has made repeated attempts to recruit the staff of Russian law enforcement agencies and special services,' according to the FSB
Stash: He was detained with 'special technical devices, written instructions for the person he was recruiting, a lot of cash, and things to help change one's appearance,' according to the FSB
Mission: The website of the American embassy in Russia informs that its Political Section is engaged in 'bringing to the attention of the Russian government the US position on the issues of foreign policy and security'
Questions: A letter the agent carried suggested the US government was willing to pay up to $1million a year plus bonuses to his unidentified potential Russian recruit, if the letter released by the FSB is genuine
Release: Fogle was held overnight before being released to U.S. officials and expelled from Russia
HOW RUSSIA AND THE U.S. NEVER STOPPED SPYING ON EACH OTHER
The arrest of Ryan Fogle is just the latest twist in the long history of spying between the U.S. and Russia.
Famously, 10 Russian sleeper agents were arrested in June 2010 and accused of pretending to be ordinary Americans while secretly plotting against the country.
The best-known is Anna Chapman, above, who has become a major celebrity in her home country since being deported from the U.S.
In the Cold War period, however, U.S.-Soviet espionage was often a matter of life and death - in 1985, military officer Arthur D. Nicholson was shot dead by a Soviet sentry while spying in East Germany.
One of the war's major crises was caused by the shooting down of an American spy plane in 1960 and the subsequent capture of its pilot.
The FSB stressed yesterday that the US and Russia 'will try to avoid ratcheting up tension around the Ryan Fogle case, focusing instead on the positive aspects of their relations'.
But Russian intelligence services say they have trapped a CIA ‘spy’ as he offered millions of pounds to a senior Russian agent.
Diplomat Ryan Fogle was thrown down and handcuffed in a night-time sting by the FSB secret service – formerly the KGB.
He had a rudimentary espionage kit containing a compass, map of Moscow, knives, a microphone, two wigs, three pairs of glasses, plastic bags containing thousands of euros and an RFID Shield, which prevents passports with computer chips being read remotely, Russian intelligence sources said.
The ‘agent’, a third secretary in the political section of the US embassy, was quizzed in the FSB’s feared Lubyanka complex before being handed over to US officials.
More...
- Russia's CIA spy bust 'was linked to Boston Bombing': U.S diplomat was trying to recruit Dagestan expert who travelled to terrorist’s home town when he was arrested
- Ryan Fogle was the 'second covert CIA agent expelled from Russia this year' as part of the security service's surveillance of suspected American operatives
Unusually, the FSB made its coup public at once. It released pictures of a man being arrested in a blue checked shirt, dirty-blond wig and baseball cap, along with images of him in detention.
Spy sources said Fogle was caught after a lengthy covert operation.
US ambassador Michael McFaul – who refused to comment on the news – has been summoned to Russia’s foreign ministry.
Fogle was caught in Vorontsovski Park, an area in south-east Moscow, the FSB said.
They implied that he wanted to contact a senior FSB agent who was snooping on Tamerlan Tsarnaev, the alleged Boston bomber.
A letter in Russian which Fogle carried suggests – if genuine – that the CIA hoped to reel in a big fish.
Addressed ‘Dear friend’, it states: ‘We are ready to offer you $100,000 [£65,000] and discuss your experience, expertise and co-operation, and the payment may go much higher if you are ready to answer certain questions.
‘For long-term co-operation we offer $1million [£650,000] per year.’
The recruit is instructed to use an internet cafe to ‘create a new Gmail mailbox which you will use only for staying in touch with us’.
The incident is the biggest spy scandal since the arrest of glamorous agent Anna Chapman and nine other Russians in the US in 2010.
The FSB stated: ‘Recently, the US intelligence community has made repeated attempts to recruit employees of Russia’s law-enforcement bodies and special agencies.’
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