How Russia uses sex to ensnare Western diplomats

12 comments

1. Irresistible infiltrators inspire intrigue.

   By Bethany Elliott:

   *[…] The very term honeytrap might seem reminiscent of a different age of espionage: of Cold War turncoats, or even of Mata Hari, the exotic Dutch dancer and femme fatale who spied on the French army for the Germans during World War I.*

   *But irresistible infiltrators have been dominating the news of late.*

   *Former Conservative chief whip Simon Hart’s recently published diaries describe an MP who, having succumbed to a lady’s advances, phoned from a flat where he was trapped with 12 naked women and a CCTV camera, panicking that she may be a “KGB agent”. The courts are currently hearing the case of an agent for Russia accused of planning a sexual sting on the investigative journalist Christo Grozev.*

   *In an age of high-tech cyber espionage, why are honeytraps still happening?*

   *In short, because personal weaknesses all too easily become national ones. Not all countries run such operations: the former British ambassador to North Korea and Belarus, John Everard, told me he is “not aware of any instance where the North Koreans have used this technique. In North Korea, there would be repugnance at the idea of a decent Korean girl sleeping with a sweaty, hairy foreigner.”*

   *But in those places that do, everyone is at risk, even if ex-diplomats stress that approaches usually come in forms other than the stereotypical random come-on.*

   *Captain John Foreman, ex-British defence attaché in Moscow, said that “every diplomat, Western or otherwise, is a potential target. This isn’t a random process. The Russian security services are always looking for human vulnerabilities. These can be unhappiness, money worries, weak physical security, a tendency of talking about sensitive matters in public, drink or drug problems, a taste for infidelity and/or a roving eye for the opposite sex. Once the FSB see a vulnerability, they will try and exploit it for intelligence advantage.”*

   *[…] The late Conservative minister Hugh Rossi was advised by a spook in 1970: “I’ve only one piece of advice to give you – don’t go to bed with a Russian of either sex.” Foreman told me he never left Moscow alone overnight and never drank by himself or with people he did not trust.*

   *Alternatively, General Sir Richard Shirreff, Nato’s former deputy supreme allied commander in Europe, said that, visiting Russia, he had a defence so powerful that Kremlin spies never dared approach him: “My wife came with me.”*

2. We’ve all seen this in Bond films.

3. Of course I’d betray my country to sleep with a hot Russian woman wouldn’t you? 

4. Pretty sure every spy agency would do this, additionally it must be easier now that they can buy people’s porn histories and learn their kinks before hand.

5. Note to self: if you ever meet an attractive Russian woman, lie about your job and tell her you work for the government.

   Got it!

6. This is disgusting. What job specifically would be at risk, that way I know not to apply for it?

7. You don’t have to lie about your enemy just because you hate them, you seriously believe this?

8. I feel that the Tory MP is just trying to cheap out of paying his hooker.

9. What’s the modus oparandi here? Do they blackmail you? Genital Warts? Or is it sweet talking to get it out of you?

10. The trick is to get the russian spy to fall in love with you and betray their allegiances

11. I wish I was a western diplomat right now

12. I spent some years in Moscow … and I wouldn’t blame the Western diplomats

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