Russian spy caught trying to enter court investigating crimes charges in Ukraine

Sergey Vladimirovich Cherkasov, 36, accused of being Russian military intelligence agent (GRU), flew to the Netherlands in April, believing he had succeeded in an extraordinary effort to gain access within the war crimes tribunal.

Cherkasov had travelled by the name Victor Muller Ferreira, claiming to be 33 years old in Brazilian nationality, but was arrested when he arrived and returned to Brazil the next day after failing in his fraud.

At that time, the GNP had begun investigating the alleged Russian war crimes in Ukraine, and if Cherkasov had succeeded, he would have had access to the international court's e-mail systems and could have been able to copy, confuse or destroy documents or evidence delivered to courts.

“The threat presented by this intelligence officer is considered potentially very high,”, the Dutch Intelligence and Security General Service said in a statement.

Dutch intelligence service head Eric Ackerboom said it was the rare “to capture a Russian agent “of this calibre”.

“GRU has spent years creating this false identity. It is a major effort,” was quoted as saying by the Dutch news agency ANP.

The spy had developed a covertly built identity over many years, marking it as one of Russia's most precious programmes of <x0 legals”, a spying programme dating back to the Cold War and has been widely resurrected under President Vladimir Putin.

The Italians are Russian agents who are given false credentials from another country and are assigned duties to create a false identity over many years, keeping it secret from partners and children, with the goal of finally achieving an influence position.

A group of 10 illegals were exposed by the FBI in the US 12 years ago, but while they had been in the country for more than a decade, they had largely failed to take power positions and influence in part because they were closely monitored. / REL/