David Ballantyne Smith, 57, a British national residing in Potsdam, Germany, is charged with nine counts of violating the Official Secrets Act 1911 and is scheduled to appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on April 7.
Smith, a security officer at the British Embassy in Berlin, was extradited from Germany today (April 6) following his detention by German police on August 10, 2021.
According to the Crown Prosecution, the accused offences, which were allegedly committed between October 2020 and August 2021, are related to the acquisition and transfer of information helpful to the Russian state.
The CPS’s Head of Special Crime and Counter Terrorism Division, Nick Price, stated: “David Smith was charged with nine violations of the Official Secrets Act.
“He is charged with seven counts of gathering information with the goal of delivering it to Russian officials, one count of attempted communication, and one count of transferring information to a person he thought was a member of the Russian government.
“We secured an extradition warrant and worked closely with our German counterparts to bring Mr Smith back to the UK after examining the evidence and authorising charges.”
The CPS and the Metropolitan Police Department collaborated to establish a case, and charges were approved in November 2021.
The combined probe by German and British security agencies stemmed from concerns that he had been supplying ‘below secret level’ material to Russia since late 2020.
Smith’s job as a security guard provided him with information on who was entering and exiting the British embassy in Berlin, but he may also have been aware of the building’s security measures, according to the Times.
The British authorities sought his extradition at the end of last year, but he fought the request with his lawyer, who stated that he considers Germany to be his home after residing there for 16 years.
However, after the decision was made last month, the Brandenburg state court accepted the request yesterday (April 5).
In compared to British law, it is considered that Germany imposes lesser terms for the sale of state secrets.
In the United Kingdom, crimes involving espionage and sabotage can result in a term of up to 14 years in prison.
