He was, it seemed, the perfect spy — discreet, dedicated, experienced. In the glowing words of his 2002 service report, ”X’s constant engagement and sense of initiative allow him to obtain consistently excellent results, to the great satisfaction of his superiors”.
But none of his sleuthing exploits was true.
An officer in France’s elite DST counter-espionage service on Tuesday stood accused of fabricating investigations, inventing informants, fiddling his expenses, falsifying missions and cavorting with a glamorous Egyptian call girl while pretending she was a valuable source of undercover information.
Last October the Swiss federal police informed their French counterparts that a counter-espionage officer was consorting with a certain ”Carla”, an upmarket prostitute who passed herself off as a press attache at the United Nations in Geneva.
According to the DST’s subsequent internal investigation, a copy of which was obtained by Le Figaro newspaper, the two met regularly in a ”VIP salon” run by a chauffeur to Morocco’s UN delegation. There the spy would ”discuss certain professional matters” and then hand over 500 Swiss francs in cash.
The spy was hauled before a disciplinary tribunal last month, Le Figaro said, and is awaiting a verdict. The DST and national police confirmed an officer was involved in disciplinary proceedings. – Guardian Unlimited Â