High Russian diplomat singled out as the spy chief in Sweden

It was on 27 February that the Swedish security service, Säpo, was at a restaurant and nightclub on Kungsgatan in Stockholm. On a mobilfilm from a witness, that the DN previously been able to publish, shows how a person is taken away by plainclothes police officers.

the DN can now reveal who the person in the movie is: counsellor Yevgeny Umerenko at the Russian embassy in Stockholm.

Counsellor Yevgeny Umerenko during Säpos crackdown on 27 February at a restaurant in Stockholm. Photo: Private

the Counsellor sat and ate dinner with a Swedish technology consultant, when the police surrounded them at the table. The swede was arrested on the spot and now sits in custody, suspected of the unlawful intelligence activities.

the Witness saw how the man, that DN now has identified as the counsellor, sat with a notepad arrived during dinner. ”It looked like they both knew each other quite well”, have the witness earlier told DN. ”He looked very embarrassed and nervous at the arrest.”

Yevgeny Umerenko identified himself as a diplomat and was released after a while. He is one of the embassy's top managers, with the title of counsellor, ambassadråd in Swedish. He has previously served in Germany, Turkey and Switzerland and came to Sweden in 2016.

According to DN's sources, he is an intelligence officer in the Russian utrikesunderrättelsetjänsten, SVR, and is considered by the Fbi to be the head of the SVR's activities in Sweden.

Initially, there were claims that he left Sweden shortly after the raid. But on Wednesday could DN to reveal that he in fact is still in the country.

Something that Säpochefen Klas Friberg confirmed on Thursday for the DN in the connection to the security police's annual press conference.

"The only statement I can make is that I am somewhat surprised that he has not done it yet," says Säpochefen.

" We have informed the government about what happened. Otherwise, we delegate to the government to make the decisions they want to make, reply Klas Friberg.

During Wednesday summoned the Russian ambassador Victor Tatarintsev up to the MINISTRY. There was a Swedish protest against the U.s.-Umerenko used their diplomatic status for espionage. From the Swedish side was it was out of the question to Umerenko would remain in Sweden.

Umerenkos Swedish residence permit expires at the end of april and it is hoped that he will leave before then.

Yevgeny Umerenko and his wife folkbokfördes in Sweden in may 2016. The suspected crime has been going on since at least 2017, according to Police.

Säpos head of counter-intelligence, Daniel Stenling, responds to the DN that ”he did not want to go into the details” on the question of how important Urumenko is from a Russian point of view.

by Contrast, Stenling that there may be an explanation for the underrättelseofficeren is still in Sweden:

"I can understand that there are reasons for them (the russians) that he is still there, but I don't want to go into them," he says.

According to the Police, they have worked with the case over a longer period of time and engaged in ”an intensive intelligence and investigation”.

Today's News has repeatedly in the past two weeks sought the Russian embassy for a comment.

The detained 45-year-old Swedish man denies the crime, according to his defense attorney.