Sandu on Espionage: This Information is Known to Our Intelligence Services

Head of State Maia Sandu commented on The Insider’s investigation, according to which there is a spy centre at the Russian embassy in Chisinau. Journalists counted antennas on the diplomatic building and said there were twice as many as on the Brussels one. “This information is known to our intelligence services. At the appropriate time, they will present the details and announce solutions to this problem,” realitatea.md quoted Sandu. The Insider article says that before the summit on 1 June, journalists identified a man, presumably a Russian Intelligence Service officer, who observed the manipulation of antennas. The man in question is Pavel Yakunin, a graduate of the Military Institute of Radioelectronics who holds the attaché post. The journalists also said that other suspicious persons such as Sergei Sarapulov, Sergei Korolev, Igor Naumenco, Alexander Mironov, Konstantin Valdai, Alexander Koshurenko and Alexander Chikurov had also travelled to Moldova. They allegedly related to the Russian Intelligence Service specializing in wiretapping. According to the published material, while the Russian Embassy in Belgium has 17 antennas, the Chisinau diplomatic mission has 28. The Insider also says that Moscow rotates the officers responsible for wiretapping every 2-3 years, and their wives act as couriers to deliver certain files to Moscow. At the same time, journalists also report that prior to last year’s cyberattack on the Government’s networks in Moldova, vehicles frequently left the embassy, making stops near the Government’s buildings, the Parliament and the Information and Security Service building. Passengers in the vehicles allegedly carried small backpacks with laptops and tablets and communicated with others on mobile phones before changing locations, accompanied by intelligence officers.