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News you may have missed #384

July 3, 2010 by intelNews 1 Comment

India arrests Russian woman in connection with alleged German spy. Police in the Indian state of Punjab have arrested Olga Timoshik, a Russian woman accused of assisting Thomas Kuehn, a suspected German spy who was arrested in Punjab in early June.
UK Prime Minister raises ex-spy’s death with Russian President. British leader David Cameron raised the contentious issue of the 2006 assassination of former KGB spy Alexander Litvinenko in London, in his first meeting with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev last weekend. Litvinenko’s death triggered the worst dispute between the UK and Russia in recent years.
BP hires ex-CIA counsel as lobbyist. Stanley Sporkin, who was General Counsel for the CIA for five years under William Casey during the Iran-Contra years, has been hired by British Petroleum as ombudsman “to hear worker complaints from Alaska and elsewhere in the US”.

Filed under Expert news and commentary on intelligence, espionage, spies and spying Tagged with 0 BP hires ex-CIA counsel as lobbyist, 0 India arrests Russian woman in connection with alleged German spy, 0 UK Prime Minister raises ex-spy's death with Russian President, Alexander Litvinenko, assassinations, British Petroleum, David Cameron, Dmitry Medvedev, espionage, Germany, India, Iran-Contra Scandal, News, news you may have missed, Olga Timoshik, Punjab (India), Russia, Stanley Sporkin, Thomas Kuehn, UK

Gaddafi’s son employed former spies’ firm to research PhD thesis

September 16, 2009 by intelNews Leave a comment

Saif al-Gaddafi

By JOSEPH FITSANAKIS | intelNews.org |
One of Libyan ruler Muammar al-Gaddafi’s seven sons employed a firm staffed by former British intelligence agents to carry out research for his PhD thesis. Saif al-Islam al-Gaddafi, 37, who is seen as the leading candidate to succeed his father, recently submitted his doctoral thesis at the London School of Economics, where he was a PhD candidate for four years. A preliminary note in his thesis, which is now available at the Senate House library of the University of London, reveals that he employed the Monitor Group, a research and consultancy company that includes at least two well-known former British spies among its ranks, to conduct interviews required for his thesis. Read more of this post

Filed under Expert news and commentary on intelligence, espionage, spies and spying Tagged with Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al-Megrahi, BP, British Petroleum, Libya, Lockerbie air disaster, MI6, Muammar al-Gaddafi, News, Saif al-Islam al-Gaddafi, Sir Mark Allen, Sir Richard Dearlove, The London School of Economics, The Monitor Group, The University of London, UK

CIA furious over UK-Libyan bomber release deal

September 8, 2009 by intelNews 1 Comment

Al-Megrahi

By JOSEPH FITSANAKIS | intelNews.org |
The CIA has threatened to stop sharing intelligence with UK spy services in protest over the recent release from a Scottish prison of a Libyan intelligence agent convicted for the 1988 bombing of Pan Am flight 103, according to a British newspaper. Abdelbaset al-Megrahi, who is now back home in Tripoli, was released by British authorities on August 19 on compassionate grounds, after medical tests allegedly showed he is suffering from terminal cancer. Many observers, including former CIA agent Robert Baer, voiced suspicion about the reasons behind al-Megrahi’s release, while several British newspapers, including The London Times, alleged that the release was part of a lucrative oil exploration deal between British Petroleum (BP) and the Libyan government. Now an article in British newspaper The News of the World claims that the CIA leadership has vowed to terminate intelligence cooperation with the UK over the Libyan’s release. Read more of this post

Filed under Expert news and commentary on intelligence, espionage, spies and spying Tagged with Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al-Megrahi, Africa, Binyam Mohamed, BP, British Petroleum, CIA, Cuba, energy resources, Guantánamo Bay Detention Camp, intelligence cooperation, Libya, Lockerbie air disaster, News, Pan Am Flight 103, Robert Baer, Scotland, torture, UK, United States

Ex-MI6 spy at center of Lockerbie prisoner release deal

September 7, 2009 by intelNews Leave a comment

Sir Mark Allan

By JOSEPH FITSANAKIS | intelNews.org |
A British former intelligence official has been identified as having had a major role in the recent release from a Scottish prison of a Libyan intelligence agent convicted for the 1988 bombing of Pan Am flight 103. Abdelbaset al-Megrahi, who is now back home in Tripoli, was released by British authorities on August 19 on compassionate grounds, after medical tests allegedly showed he is suffering from terminal cancer. Many observers, including former CIA agent Robert Baer, voiced suspicion about the reasons behind al-Megrahi’s release, while several British newspapers, including The London Times, alleged that the release was part of a lucrative oil exploration deal between British Petroleum (BP) and the Libyan government. Now The Sunday Mail has identified Sir Mark Allen, a former senior intelligence official who works for BP, as “the driving force” behind al-Megrahi’s release. Read more of this post

Filed under Expert news and commentary on intelligence, espionage, spies and spying Tagged with Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al-Megrahi, Africa, BP, British Petroleum, CIA, energy resources, Jack Straw, Libya, Libyan nuclear program, MI6, News, Sir Mark Allen, UK

Lockerbie bomber’s release was part of UK-Libyan oil deal, says paper

September 1, 2009 by intelNews 1 Comment

Al-Megrahi

By JOSEPH FITSANAKIS | intelNews.org |
Negotiation difficulties between British Petroleum (BP) and the Libyan government over an oil exploration deal were resolved soon after London decided to authorize last month’s release of a man convicted for his role in the 1988 Lockerbie air disaster, The London Times said on Sunday. Former Libyan intelligence agent Abdelbaset al-Megrahi was released on August 19 by British authorities on compassionate grounds and is now in Tripoli. The paper says that documents in its possession show that the decision to release al-Megrahi was the culmination of a two-year-long negotiation between the British and Libyan governments, as well as regional authorities in Scotland, where al-Megrahi was imprisoned. Read more of this post