Russian physicist’s contract in Netherlands ends over spy claim

A Russian physicist working on the development of supercomputers at a university in the Netherlands had his contract terminated less than a year ago when he was identified by the Dutch secret service as a security risk.

The physicist was unmasked when it transpired a Russian diplomat he met once a month at a cafe in Aachen, on the German side of the Dutch border, near Maastricht, was under surveillance by the German security service and money had been changing hands.

‘Ivan A’

The story of 28-year-old “Ivan A” came to light only yesterday, as Moscow and The Hague – whose relations are at their worst since the cold war – wrangled over whether or not a UN tribunal should be set up to try those responsible for shooting down Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17.

The revelations came against the background of a warning in recent months from the Dutch security service, AIVD, that there has been an increase in Russian intelligence operations in the Netherlands since the unrest began in Ukraine in late 2013.

"Russia's annexation of Crimea, the situation in Ukraine, and the tragic fate of Flight MH17 have made it clear that stability in our relations with Russia is still a long way off", said AIVD director general Rob Bertholee, in an unusually frank assessment.

His annual report went on: “In the past year, it has been established once again that the Russian intelligence services are running agents in the Netherlands with the aim of acquiring political and scientific information. Agents are also being deployed to purchase military and semi-military technology, in a deliberate attempt to flout export restrictions.”

Embarrassingly, in 2010, all three of the Netherlands’ universities of technology – Delft, Eindhoven and Twente – rejected suggestions they should take steps to prevent spying by foreign students or visiting delegations.

However, Ivan A was employed three years later by Eindhoven University of Technology, where scientists are working to protect sensitive data from the decryption power of quantum computers, expected in about 2025. The young Russian would have been an impressive catch. His pedigree was impeccable: he worked at the world-leading Max Planck Institute in Erlangen in Germany.

Security risk

An AIVD spokesman said that last July – a year after he began work – the Eindhoven authorities were told the man was a security risk and the university ended his contract. His visa for Schengen countries was revoked, and he returned to Russia – though he denied the allegations of spying. There is no indication of what information, if any, he passed to the Russian diplomat.