Italian ex-spy accused of selling NATO, Ukraine secrets to Russia for cash

An Italian former intelligence agent faces accusations of betraying his country by allegedly selling sensitive military and defense information to a Russian spy. Raoul Gavino Piras, a 59-year-old retired agent who previously worked for Italy's SISMI and AISE intelligence agencies, is accused of collaborating with Russian military intelligence officer Mikhail Astakhov since 2013.

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But Miche, you have to tell them, jokes aside: about this money thing, you know how many times I advanced money out of my own pocket. Then I forget. When you, with the general, told me to go ahead with the Vatican, that you actually wrote it to me, I went ahead, I had to give an offering to Pope Francis.

According to intercepted conversations and evidence gathered by Italian authorities, Piras allegedly received 4,000 euros for each "file" of information. These exchanges, reportedly occurring in various locations around Rome, reveal Piras complaining about delayed payments while simultaneously handing over classified data. In one instance, he allegedly told Astakhov, "I had to give an offering to Pope Francis" in relation to information about the Vatican, though the exact context remains unclear.

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I give what I can, tell your boss.

The intelligence provided by Piras is said to encompass a wide range of critical topics. This includes plans for the procurement of long-range missiles like Storm Shadow and Scalp, Italy's and the EU's rearmament strategies, and the defense priorities of the European Union. He also allegedly supplied information on Ukraine's efforts to produce long-range missiles and the effectiveness of attacks on Iranian nuclear facilities.

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My goodness, every time these things, let me read, this big mess, the Gat I know what it is (global asymmetric threat including terrorism, hybrid conflicts and disinformation, ed.), this is serious, this is easy. Prospects, armed forces, objectives.

Further details suggest Piras provided insights into Russian military hardware, warning about potential theft of secrets related to the T90 Vladimir tank. He also shared information about a new type of submarine being developed by Leonardo, an Italian multinational aerospace company. The data was reportedly transferred via USB drives, organized into labeled sections, and included sensitive details about Italian police cybersecurity units and the Carabinieri's special operations units.

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Are you talking about the Sampt (the missile defense system supplied to Ukraine, ed.)? I wrote to you, we gave you the mechanisms, the French gave the missiles.