Five wild spy stories

It’s Friday and we burnt all our brainpower on the week’s briefings, so you don’t get a witty intro. But you do get a wrap of the most intriguing intelligence stories, starting with…

1. Von der Leyen’s new secret service

What do you buy the woman who’s already got it all: a medical degree, seven kids, competitive horse-riding cred, years as defence minister in Germany, and then scaling all the way to the tippy top of European politics as Commission President?

There’s only one thing left: Ursula von der Leyen reportedly wants her own intelligence unit, using data from EU member state spooks to harmonise Europe’s mixed security posture amid a worsening security outlook.

But of course, not everyone’s buying it. First, her critics argue it’s just a power grab. Second, it duplicates (and undermines) a unit already reporting to the bloc’s top diplomat Kaja Kallas. And third, behind the bonhomie, EU members are still cautious about what intel they share, particularly given some of the Moscow-friendly politicians in Europe’s mix.

2. South Korea’s spy chief arrested 

Police detained former spymaster Cho Tae-yong on Wednesday, as the fallout from South Korea’s wild 2024 attempted self-coup continues to play out. Basically the allegation is Cho — a former diplomat who led Seoul’s intelligence service until June — played a role in then-president Yoon’s unlawful attempt to declare martial law last year.

Cho denies knowing anything, but CCTV footage of him pocketing a draft of Yoon’s illegal decree is a bad look. So police have hauled him in on fears he might destroy evidence.

3. France’s ex-spy chief on trial 

This could be the most French spy story ever: it turns out the legendary Direction Générale de la Sécurité Extérieure (DGSE, of The Bureau fame) got assigned a secret ‘war chest’ by none other than General de Gaulle, funded via WWI reparations — the idea is to keep the DGSE financially independent so it can keep operating if France gets invaded.

But rather than leave that cash to wither in a bank, the agency invested a chunk of it to generate returns. And rather than invest it in something boring like an index, the DGSE invested some of it in… a French luxury group! And yet the guy they entrusted to manage this ritzy investment allegedly embezzled the agency’s cash instead!

So what did the DGSE do? Two operatives detained the alleged fraudster at Charles de Gaulle Airport and scared the sh!t out of him by showing surveillance pics of his family.

Bernard Bajolet was the DGSE chief at the time (2016), and denies allegations he was complicit in the airport incident. A court verdict is now TBC, but prosecutors aren’t seeking any jailtime or even a criminal record given his reputation as a “great servant of the state”.

Still, it’s an insight into the DGSE’s murky finances and operational autonomy, just as the agency faces criticism for failing to anticipate Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Australia’s ditching of a lucrative subs deal, plus coups in former colonies like Mali and Niger. 

4. Foiled in Canada! 

Canada’s new spymaster Tim Hortons Dan Rogers used his first speech to drop a few intriguing revelations, including that his agency has thwarted a) Iranian attempts to silence local critics, b) Russian attempts to smuggle Canadian tech and weapons, c) China-linked attempts to recruit spies via LinkedIn, and even d) hostile spying efforts in the Arctic.

And lastly, speaking of China…

5. The spy who got away

Back in April, Serbian authorities arrested two mysterious gents at the Hyatt just as they were due to board a flight to China: one was US-based British businessman John Miller, and the other was his presumed handler for Chinese intelligence, Cui Guanghai.

US authorities allege the pair had tried to both a) silence a dissident LA artist ahead of President Xi’s 2023 visit to California, and b) smuggle sensitive US military tech to China (everything from missile launchers to cryptographic machines).

But then something strange happened: around 1am on August 4th, their court-mandated electronic tags broke, and the two vanished from their Belgrade house arrest.

Now the Balkan Investigative Reporting Network (BIRN) has revealed (🇷🇸) the two men fled to China immediately aboard a waiting private jet!

Exfiltrating your operatives and sources is tricky, but we’re guessing China’s years of building influence in Serbia will have provided a few levers in this case.