On Monday, a Brazilian citizen in his 30s was arrested on his way to work at the University of Tromsø, suspected of being a Russian spy with a false identity. In autumn 2021, the man came to Tromsø on a research assignment. According to Aftenposten, the man received a research grant linked to UiT Norway’s Arctic University. The man himself has stated that he is a Brazilian, who came to Norway to work unpaid for UiT Norway’s Arctic university. At the same time that he applied for a job at the University of Tromsø, Nord University in Bodø also received an inquiry from the man about whether he could be a visiting researcher at the university. The inquiry came by e-mail, and also contained the man’s CV. Stunned by the inquiry The application ended up on the desk of Torbjørn Pedersen, who is a professor and researcher on security policy challenges in the northern regions. Torbjørn Pedersen is a professor and researcher on security policy challenges in the northern regions at Nord University. Photo: Nord University – The inquiry from the man ended up with me, as he stated research interests that coincided with mine. He offered to work as a self-financed guest researcher in our professional environment. Pedersen says that he was surprised that the man had no connection to other universities or research projects. The request was therefore rejected. – This was a complete stranger to me. I could not find any of the works that he stated, and therefore did not follow up on the inquiry, says Pedersen. Rector Hanne Solheim Hansen explains that the man wanted a guest researcher stay. This means that the person concerned is mostly employed elsewhere and receives a salary there, but does research at the host university. – It is not unusual at all. But in this situation, very little was described about which agenda and which questions he was interested in. He also had no connection to other institutions, explains Hansen. – That is why we chose to say no to the request. Wanted to finance his own position Since the man did not have a position elsewhere, the man would have financed his stay at Nord University himself. – How common is it for people to apply for jobs and say they can finance their own position? – It is not at all unusual, but it is usually for a short period. A few months or half a year, explains Hansen. She goes on to say that this can be relevant for researchers if they want to enter a new environment, become integrated and get new input from other researchers. The headmaster explains that initially there was nothing that made them suspicious, but that they had no need for him. – As I have been told, there was nothing suspicious. – So if you had space, could he have been employed by you? – He could have been. But then he had to have a work and residence permit. Then he had to be checked by UDI. – Are you glad you didn’t hire him? – It is very easy to sit in the light of hindsight and say that we are very happy that it was not at Nord University that he carried out espionage if that is what he has done. After all, he is only a suspect so far. UiT: – Was checked The University of Tromsø, Norway’s Arctic University (UiT) informs news that the man’s academic background was checked when he applied to be part of the project “The Gray Zone”. The rector at UiT, Dag Rune Olsen, says that they did all the investigations they were supposed to before the man got a job at the university. – We will naturally learn afterwards. Then we’ll see if we could do something else in our routines to get more clarity on people’s backgrounds, says Olsen. – An important wake-up call The man in his 30s is suspected of illegal intelligence that could harm fundamental national interests, and of illegal intelligence that could harm the security interests of other states. Professor Torbjørn Pedersen points out that the man so far only has the status of a suspect. – This is nevertheless an important wake-up call. We have a responsibility to ensure that all cooperation, both with individuals and institutions, is well-grounded professionally. news told news on Wednesday that the man must have taken a bachelor’s degree in political science with a focus on international relations at the Center for Military, Security and Strategic Studies in Canada. The man was mentioned in a post on the university’s Facebook pages in connection with them completing various university degrees. He also claims to have a master’s degree from the same country. Here, outside the Center for Peace Studies at UiT Norway’s Arctic University, the man was arrested. Photo: Rune N. Andreassen The University of Calgary now says that the Brazilian citizen who is suspected of espionage in Norway has taken a master’s degree there. The university confirms this to the public broadcaster in Canada, the CBC. He will have completed his master’s in autumn 2018. The man had a profile on Linkedin, which has now been removed. There was no information about what he has done or where he went to school before he started university in Canada. In the autumn of 2021, he came on a research mission to Tromsø. According to Aftenposten, the man received a research grant linked to UiT Norway’s Arctic University. In 2020, the university was exposed to a hacker attack. Hackers attacked the email of Nordic researchers at the University of Tromsø in 2020. Based on information, news learns that Russia was behind it. One of those who was hacked was the woman who was to become the man’s mentor.
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A man suspected of being a spy was rejected at Nord University, at the same time he applied for a job at UIT – news Nordland
