Senior German energy officials suspected of spying for Vladimir Putin

‘Anomalies’ spotted in sensitive reports on gas storage, energy security and the Nord Stream 2 pipeline raised suspicions the agents were in the Kremlin’s pay.

Russian president Vladimir Putin has dealt a massive blow to Europe by cutting off Nord Stream 1, a major gas pipeline to Europe. Picture: AFP

Two senior officials working on Germany’s energy security are under investigation as suspected Russian spies, according to a report.

The pair, who have not been publicly identified, are said to hold key posts in the economy ministry, which is managing the complex and painful shift away from Russian gas and oil.

As Moscow’s biggest natural gas customer, with an industrial sector that depends on the fuel for processes from glassmaking to the manufacture of fertilisers, Germany remains acutely vulnerable to fluctuations in supply.

While spot prices for gas have eased slightly this week and Berlin has topped up its gas reserves to more than 82 per cent of capacity as a safeguard against winter shortages, the situation remains fraught.

Russia has halted the Nord Stream 1 pipeline, raising fears of even higher gas prices for a dependent Germany. Picture: Reuters/The Times

The Nord Stream 1 pipeline from Russia, Germany’s most important conduit for Russian gas, has been shut, notionally for three days of maintenance, although there are some concerns that it may not return to operation on time.

Robert Habeck, the energy and economy minister, said elevated gas prices had forced some manufacturers to wind up production altogether. This makes the allegations that two Russian intelligence agents infiltrated the upper echelons of his ministry particularly uncomfortable.

Die Zeit reported that the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV), the domestic intelligence service, had been called in after civil servants became suspicious.

The alarm is said to have been raised after “anomalies” were spotted in internal reports on sensitive subjects such as gas storage, energy security and the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, which was mothballed shortly before the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February.

The two officials apparently raised eyebrows by “deviating wildly from the minister’s official line” in discussions about Nord Stream 2, the de facto nationalisation of Gazprom’s German arm and plans to rescue Uniper, one of Germany’s biggest energy companies.

Habeck’s team alerted the BfV, whose officers supposedly detected an “emotional closeness to Russia” in the pair and identified biographical details that “stood out” in their CVs, such as a period of study in Moscow.

The allegations are particularly uncomfortable for Robert Habeck’s ministry. Picture: EPA/The Times

In the absence of hard evidence that the officials were in the Kremlin’s pay, it remains possible that they adopted Russia-friendly positions of their own accord.

Germany’s leaders had cultivated a relationship with Russia for much of the past two and a half decades before the outbreak of war, including intensive exchange and dialogue programs. As a result, strong sympathy for the Kremlin’s positions was not uncommon in the higher reaches of politics and officialdom, and in some cases it has persisted to this day.

As a rule the BfV does not comment on its operations. The economy ministry declined to disclose further information about the case, but said it was in “close contact” with the BfV because its strategically important brief put it in “particular focus” for the intelligence services.

The Times