Russian Arman S., Armenian citizen Vardges I. and Ukrainian Robert A. were arrested for "intelligence agency activity" in Frankfurt am Main, the German Prosecutor General's Office said.
All three were detained on June 19. They are suspected of working for foreign intelligence. The maximum penalty under this article is five years in prison. The agency did not specify which country they are suspected of working for the intelligence service.
The arrest order says that the detainees were tasked by a foreign intelligence service to collect information about a Ukrainian citizen staying in Germany. Der Spiegel reports that he was involved in combat operations against the Russian army.
On June 19, the suspects collected information in a cafe in Frankfurt am Main, where the Ukrainian was supposed to appear, the Federal Prosecutor's Office said. Der Spiegel writes that the detainees were going to meet the target there, but he suspected surveillance and contacted the police.
"The three defendants traveled to Germany on behalf of a foreign secret service to gather information about a man from Ukraine who was there," the agency says.
The investigation is also looking into the possibility that the suspects used fake passports and foreign names.
Frankfurt am Main is hosting matches of this year's European soccer championship, which Germany is hosting. However, on June 19 at the stadium in Frankfurt there were no games - one was held on June 17, the second on June 20, and the next will be held on June 23.
Earlier it also became known that in Montenegro detained a Russian at the request of the United States, he is accused of interference in American elections. Earlier, the publication CdM reported that the Minister of justice of Montenegro Andrei Milovic approved the arrest of a Russian citizen, who is accused of illegal interference in the US elections in 2020. The name of the detainee is not given.
