PST confirms to news that there has been a change in the charge against the man who had previously been charged with espionage for the benefit of a foreign state. The police now suspect that the man may have tried to obtain information for his own financial gain. The change in charges means that the case is now being moved from PST to Økokrim. – In the PST’s investigation of the Malaysian citizen who was arrested on 8 September, the hypothesis of illegal intelligence is clearly weakened. At the same time, the hypothesis of economically organized crime is significantly strengthened. That explains the police attorney at PST, Thomas Blom. Therefore, from today, Økokrim takes over the investigative responsibility in the case. On 8 September, a 25-year-old Malaysian citizen was arrested by PST, charged with having conducted intelligence against Norway. At the time, it was not clear who the man would have been conducting intelligence on behalf of. It was initially assumed that the man must have worked on assignment from a country other than Malaysia, where the man is from. The man is a student, but not at a Norwegian teaching institution, and he has been in Norway for a relatively short time, PST confirms to news. Believes the case is extensive Økokrim believes the case is large and extensive, and probably involves organized crime with international ramifications. – Økokrim has taken over the investigation responsibility for this case from today because we are the ones investigating major financial criminal cases. We will now look at the case and consider changing the charge from illegal intelligence activities to attempts at a number of gross frauds using IMSI-catchers in Oslo and Bergen, says the prosecuting officer at Økokrim, first state prosecutor Marianne Bender in a press release. Økokrim will now assess the evidence in the case so far and probably change the charges after the takeover from PST. At the beginning of next week, they will go to the district court and ask for further detention with a changed charge.
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