They appear patient and cautious, not always shrewd. They make up stories to cover their true identities. They are the illegals, the Russian spies sent to the West: thirties and forties trained to live as Europeans and who, from time to time, are discovered. Many episodes have emerged in recent months.
The origin
Russian services have a fondness for Latin America. Sergey Cherkasov, aka Victor Muller Ferreira, claimed to be Brazilian and attempted to infiltrate the Court in The Hague. His colleague was also (false) «Brazilian». Jose Assis Giammaria discovery in a Norwegian research center. “Argentine” origin, however, for Maria Mayer and her husband Ludwig Gisch, blocked in Slovenia. He added an exotic fact: born in Namibia. Maria Tsalla, who escaped from Greece, claimed to be the daughter of immigrants, in her past a bit of Belgium, Mexico and again Brazil. Because husband and colleague of hers, the self-styled Gerard Daniel Campos Wittichclaimed to be Brazilian and fled to Asia after arrests in Slovenia. Probably they were part of a single cell. She was from Peru, even though she wasn’t Peruvian, Maria Adela Kuhfeldt Rivera settled in Naples to try to hook elements in NATO circles and then returned to Moscow when she feared ending up in a cage.
The documents
Maria Tsalla has chosen tradition stealing the identity of a dead little girl immediately after the birth in Attica in 1991. Scheme used for decades by the “shadows” of half the world. Why a newborn has no past, then you can replace yourself by creating one. Cherkasov had kept — making a gross mistake — his “legend”, i.e. all the passages of his existence built at the tableincluding mundane references, such as the smell of fish near a bridge in Rio de Janeiro or the model’s poster in a mechanic. Maria deceived the Greek registry office by entrusting herself to two lawyersone of Russian origin who died young, and intorting a pensioner, a member of an evangelical community, convinced that he was testifying in favor of the daughter of an old friend. Cherkasov gave expensive gifts to a notary who assisted him in presenting a forged birth certificate. Maria Adela has hit the wall of bureaucracy in Peru. Synthesis: they rely on formal ways and then take shortcuts. Not infrequently they have accomplices who prepare the ground beforehand. The investigative site Bellingcat he found a sort of laziness on the part of the GruRussian military intelligence: issued passports with serial numbers.
The job
The two Argentines had an art shop and a computer company in Slovenia. The first occupation allowed you to shoot, the second had outdated defined products. They had a lot of cash, perhaps intended for others. Maria Tsalla was there photographer — great for walking around — e ran a knitwear shop. Maria Adela was selling jewels, actually Chinese junk. Cherkasov introduced himself as expert in international politics but he proved to be inexperienced in the art of espionage: incriminating material found on his hard drive was confiscated. Sometimes, as polyglot as they are, they can’t hide their accent perfectly and so they invent other lies to appease suspicions. He doesn’t always succeed. According to investigators some of the moles have as their first mission the acquisition of an authentic EU passport which allows him to roam freely on the continent, where he can then recruit precious sources. The residence in smaller states is like a peripheral base, a trampoline projected outwards.
The love
Maria Tsalla was romantically linked to a Greek professor (unaware of everything) and maybe she would have married him if she hadn’t been forced to leave. She actually never forgot her royal husband, Daniel Campos who, meanwhile, had one Brazilian girlfriend. Maria Adela’s husband was an Italian-Russian-Ecuadorian who “died” of illness in 2013. Cherkasov had explored the possibility of a marriage with his Moscow contact person – code name Diver. In some cases the “center” guarantees you a wife, in others it is unwilling as the union with someone stranger involves obvious risks. The love story is a double-edged sword, you can conquer or betray yourself. They have been trained since the days of the KGB the “red sparrows”, female agents who had to set up honey trapsor to seduce officials to extract secrets from them but also to organize sexual blackmail.