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Alleged Russian spy plot foiled in Switzerland: report

21.01.2020 15:53
Swiss officials have foiled what may have been a spying plot by two Russians posing as plumbers in Davos, the site of the annual World Economic Forum, according to a report.
A police officer stands guard during the 50th annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
A police officer stands guard during the 50th annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.Photo: EPA/ALESSANDRO DELLA VALLE

The Reuters news agency on Tuesday cited the Tages-Anzeiger newspaper as saying the pair were checked by Swiss police in the Alpine ski resort in August last year.

The Russians at the time produced diplomatic passports and left the country, the paper reported, as quoted by Reuters.

The report comes as Davos is hosting a gathering of global business and political leaders this week.

Reuters quoted a Swiss police spokeswoman as saying that two men with Russian diplomatic passports had been the subjects of a routine identity check in Davos in August, but no connection had been established between their visit and the World Economic Forum.

A spokesman for the Russian embassy in Bern, Switzerland, has dismissed the report, according to Reuters.

(gs)

Source: Reuters