The two brothers Peyman and Payam Kia, of Iranian origin, deny having spied for the Russian military intelligence service GRU in Sweden for years.

For several years Peyman Kia, 42, held positions of trust with the Swedish security police Säpo and the Swedish military intelligence service Must.

In Säpo, he says, he worked with counterintelligence, meaning he was involved in hunting foreign spies in Sweden, including Russians.

In Must he was according Today’s news associated with the most secret department, the Kontoret för sörður inhämmtning (KSI), which deals, among other things, with Swedish agents abroad. Employees of this service can also operate under a false identity.

damaged hard drive

At the end of September last year, after a long investigation, he was arrested and has since been detained and subjected to lengthy interrogations. Two weeks after the arrest, the 35-year-old brother was also arrested.

According to the indictment, Payam Kia nearly panicked when her brother was arrested and destroyed and threw a PC hard drive. It was later found in a trash can in the Uppsala area.

Suspicious searches

The investigation further revealed that Payam Kia had borrowed another PC and carried out a series of suspicious searches related to espionage, possibility of escape, sentence and sentencing conditions in the days following the incident. arrest of his brother.

He also asked for advice on how to permanently delete content on cellphones and in chat apps, and police believe he was responsible for the ongoing contact with the GRU.

– In the texts of Payam, there are a number of parts that can be linked to contact with a foreign power and the planning of a transfer of something that seems to bring a greater financial contribution, he says Aftonbladet in the indictment.

Notes on the GRU

According to Swedish media, Peyman refused to explain during initial interrogations, but eventually answered questions from investigators. He denies any involvement in the Russian secret services.

Among other things, the police confronted him with a note that says “800,000 a month of horror”, but Peyman denies that this refers to the payment of the Russian military intelligence service GRU.

In several other notes, Peyman also mentions the “GRU thing”, something he couldn’t give a good explanation for during interrogations, except that it was probably an abbreviation for something.

If that’s what the Swedish police are basing their suspicions of espionage on, they are “completely screwed”, he claimed during one of the interrogations mentioned in the indictment.

Crude espionage

According to the indictment, which alleges crude espionage and the disclosure of classified material of great importance to Swedish security, the two brothers have been in contact with Russian intelligence services since 2011.

– The offense is serious because it concerns matters of great importance. Information obtained and transmitted without authorization could harm Sweden’s security if it reaches a foreign power, the state’s first prosecutor, Per Lindqvist, said when the indictment was announced on Friday. .

Has been monitored

After his career at Säpo and the military intelligence service Must, Peyman Kia joined the Swedish Food Agency, where he quickly rose through the ranks and obtained a position of trust.

The 42-year-old was then all in the spotlight of Säpo, who had been watching him since 2017. Among other things, the man’s safe was searched six times in the years 2017 to 2019. It revealed that he had received a residence permit in Canada.

Säpo has teamed up with Swedish Food Agency Director General Annica Sohlström, who for three years oversaw Peyman and reported to them, writes The Express.