• German authorities arrested six suspected spies this month in cases involving Russian and Chinese espionage.
• Prosecutors are investigating Krah over alleged payments from pro-Russian and Chinese sources.
• The arrests follow Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s return from talks with China’s President Xi Jinping.

German authorities have arrested six suspected spies in Germany this month alone, amidst a deluge of allegations involving Russian and Chinese espionage. The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party finds itself particularly embarrassed as the investigation has ensnared their top two candidates for the European elections in June.

Authorities have arrested an aide to MEP Maximilian Krah, who leads the party’s list, on suspicion of spying for China. Jian G stands accused of being an “employee of a Chinese secret service.”

Prosecutors have initiated preliminary investigations into the politician himself over alleged payments from pro-Russian and Chinese sources. Mr. Krah denies any wrongdoing.

Days earlier, Petr Bystron, the second name on the AfD list, refuted allegations of receiving cash from the Voice of Europe website, which European intelligence claims to have been a front for Russian intelligence.

However, the allegations extend far beyond the AfD.

German authorities have arrested two German nationals of Russian origin on suspicion of plotting to sabotage Germany’s military aid to Ukraine, while three Germans have been detained for allegedly planning to pass on advanced engine designs to Chinese intelligence.

“It is unusual to have detentions of three networks [allegedly] engaged in some sort of espionage for Russia and China coming almost at the same time,” said Noura Chalati, a research fellow at the Leibniz Centre for the Modern Orient.

In all three espionage cases, it is believed that the efforts of Germany’s BfV domestic intelligence agency were crucial.

“Our security authorities… have massively strengthened their counter-espionage efforts,” Interior Minister Nancy Faeser said.

The arrests closely followed Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s return from wide-ranging talks with China’s President Xi Jinping in Beijing.

‘Arrest always a political decision’

According to Andrei Soldatov, an expert on the Russian security services, the case of the Russian-German pair could indicate a Kremlin desire to escalate attacks on aid to Ukraine.

“It is just a completely new level of escalation,” Mr Soldatov told the BBC. “These people [allegedly] collected information to help organize sabotage operations against military facilities on German soil.”

Meanwhile, Roderich Kiesewetter, a former German Army officer who is now an opposition MP, accused China of seeking to gain access to advanced research that could be useful for military or other purposes.

“China sees opportunities to exploit Germany’s openness to access our knowledge and technology,” he told the news.

Even so, Andrei Soldatov believes Berlin is making a statement by putting down a marker.

“An arrest is always a political decision,” he says.

“Counter-intelligence agencies in all countries prefer not to arrest people because it’s better to follow them and monitor their activities to learn more about their networks and their activities.”

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