The technology company Instrumentcompaniet is said to have become involved in Russian intelligence activities against its will. The company contacted PST because they suspected that they had sold advanced technological equipment to someone they did not quite know, but who was Russian and had an address at the Russian embassy. PST then discovered that the company had sold its goods to a Russian intelligence officer. It comes out in the latest episode of PST’s podcast. The intelligence officer had bought advanced underwater equipment for one million kroner. – Initially, we thought it was mysterious all the way through. But the suspicion only came after the start of the war and after the Nord Stream gas pipeline was blown up. We thought it was good to report to PST, says Håkon Nesby in Instrumentcompaniet to news. Shopped for advanced underwater equipment According to Nesby, the Russian man was nicely dressed and spoke good English and arrived at the store in an embassy car. – I responded that he wanted cash payment and that we received very little data and information about him. We usually always register orders with org numbers. But he was entered as a private person with an address to the Russian embassy, and not a phone number, just an email, says Nesby. The intelligence officer must have purchased underwater equipment, water quality equipment for underwater use, and measurement and mass parameters. He also had a request that the company could not get hold of – equipment to detect cables on the seabed. – He bought an oxygen optode for use at a depth of many metres. He also had some requests that we were unable to satisfy, which concerned the detection of cables, says Nesby. – We got hold of the manufacturer and they were able to offer us a model that was almost identical to the one they requested, but it could not find out how far below the seabed the cable was. It could only gauge direction. Then it wasn’t interesting, explains Nesby in PST’s podcast. – What kind of people usually buy this from you? – The offshore industry would have bought everything the same to monitor water quality, structure in everything that lies and floats on water, for example. – Perhaps a bit naive When the internet cable to Svalbard was broken shortly after the war in Ukraine broke out, Nesby says he thought a lot about the Russian buyer. – Why didn’t you do something already at that point? – I was perhaps a little naive. I couldn’t quite see it that way. He couldn’t cut that cable with equipment from us, I thought, says Nesby. – Did you ever think that it was something strange considering that he turned up at your place in an embassy car and had an address for the embassy. You never thought it was intelligence? – No, I do not think so. We have several embassies that buy equipment from us for use here in Norway. So the fact that the Russian embassy also came by was not something to question. It seemed natural. – Have you seen anything more about that person? – Not after the war broke out, says Nesby. PST encourages more people to contact Adviser Dag Røhjell in the Police Security Service (PST) says that they are sure that this is a matter of intelligence. – There are few guarantees in the intelligence world, but it was the subject of a thorough analysis by us, and assessments. This means that we are sure that that person was in reality an intelligence officer, says Røhjell to news. Advisor Dag Røhjell in the Police Security Service (PST). Photo: Snorre Tønset / news PST says it is positive that the Norwegian company got in touch and encourages all businesses and private individuals to get in touch if something goes wrong. – We gained good knowledge of the behavior that this intelligence officer had displayed, and we gained a broader understanding of what technologies they are looking for, says Røhjell. – The company became suspicious when the internet cable from Svalbard was cut, and then they notified you after the gas pipelines were blown up, is there reason to believe that the equipment that was acquired may have been used to target Nord Stream? – No, I cannot comment on that. I have no idea about that. Russian Embassy: We do not know who it is In an e-mail to news, the Russian Embassy in Oslo writes that they do not know who this is about. – We do not know who and what it is about, as well as how this is connected to journalism, the Russian embassy writes to news. PST will not comment on whether the intelligence officer is one of the 15 Russians who were expelled from Norway earlier this spring, but confirms that he is no longer in Norway.
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Became suspicious after the Nord Stream explosion – news Norway – Overview of news from various parts of the country
