Italian police said Tuesday they had arrested two people including “a former member of the national intelligence community” on charges of spying for Russia.
A police statement said the two had disclosed information, including from “serving military personnel,” to a suspected Russian intelligence officer.
Defense Minister Guido Crosetto thanked the Carabinieri police for conducting an investigation that was “as complex as it is sensitive.”
“There can be no tolerance — especially when individuals with positions of responsibility are involved — toward anyone who compromises or puts at risk the security of the republic,” he said in a statement.
The police said the main suspect, a 59-year-old former Italian agent, had been in contact with “an alleged officer of the Russian intelligence services, who enjoyed diplomatic immunity on Italian territory.”
He “obtained and disclosed to him the information of interest through six sources — including four serving military personnel assigned to posts marked by a high level of confidentiality,” the statement said.
The statement said the ex-agent had given the information in exchange for money.
It did not give details about the identity of the second arrested person.
