A Russian spy who attempted to infiltrate the International Criminal Court (ICC) in the Hague spent years studying at Trinity College Dublin under a bogus identity.
The Dutch authorities announced they had prevented Sergey Vladimirovich Cherkasov, 36, from taking up a position as an intern at the International Criminal Court, which is investigating war crimes in Ukraine.
Cherkasov appears to have spent years constructing a fake identity before applying for an internship position at the ICC.
The Dutch intelligence service AIVD described him as a member of the GU, the military intelligence division of the Russian armed forces.
Cherkasov is now the subject of intense investigations by garda and military intelligence, who are attempting to establish his contacts and precise movements while in Ireland.
Sources said Cherkasov had been the subject of investigations over a long period of time. It is understood that various government departments were briefed on the case on Thursday.
Cherkasov had purported to be a 33-year-old Brazilian citizen named Viktor Muller Ferreira, who had studied philosophy, politics and economics at Trinity College Dublin between 2014 and 2018.
His CV suggests he previously worked as a travel agent in Brazil. His age profile suggests he is a junior-ranking officer in the GU, which is still commonly known as the GRU.
The suspect used a flat in Ranelagh in Dublin’s southside. He moved to the United States where he studied at Johns Hopkins University in Washington DC before applying for a position at the ICC.
Cherkasov is said to have maintained a low profile in Dublin, possibly for operational reasons and to maintain his cover.
One student who studied alongside him at TCD told how few people in his year group knew the spy.
“It is a very small course, 35 people started the course. When you are in such a small course, everyone knows each other. I happened to just sit next to him at an early lecture, so I was one of the few people to meet him,” said the former student, who asked not to be named.
“We thought he was a mature student who had his own group of friends. The fact that he had a German name but was supposedly from Brazil, was always a bit suss, I suppose.”
Cherkasov was said to attend class only sporadically, but did turn up to international relation classes, which was said to be his passion. Those who met him say he rarely, if ever, mingled with strangers and had kept to himself.
Cherkasov adopted a similar approach after he moved to the United States to study American foreign policy at Johns Hopkins University.
In a tweet, Eugene Finkel, an associate professor at Johns Hopkins who specialises in Russian affairs, said he felt angered at having learned that Cherkasov was a spy.
“Now I am just exploding. I feel angry, I feel stupid, I feel naive, I feel tired. I got played. I had him in class. Twice, in fact. One class was half-Zoom during Covid, several interactions outside class,” he said.
The spy’s activities in Ireland are now the subject of inquiries by the security services and military, who are trying to clarify if he was collecting intelligence on Irish targets.
Cherkasov’s Facebook profile shows he travelled extensively throughout Ireland on a motorcycle, an activity that may indicate his was providing logistical support for other Russian spies transiting through Ireland.
Images of his travels around Ireland posted on social media did not show his face or bike registration.
The GU and its SVR foreign intelligence service are both active in Ireland collecting intelligence on politicians and people in the world of politics, business, research and academia. The two agencies are now considered the single greatest threat to Ireland’s national security along with China’s intelligence services.
The disclosure highlights how Russia’s intelligence services are using Ireland as an entry point for their agents to gain access to Europe and the United States.
This specific case also highlights the presence of Russian illegals, intelligence officers who live in the general population under bogus identities as opposed to undeclared intelligence officers who operate under diplomatic cover from embassies.
Cherkasov’s case is one of the few documented cases of Russian illegals in Europe.
The Irish and European security services have long believed that Russia has deployed large numbers of illegals across Europe, who use a variety of identities to create back stories, or legends which enables them to gain access to sensitive government agencies.
The use of a fake Brazilian identity may be connected to Ireland’s non-visa requirement for Brazilian citizens who wish to study in Ireland.
Ireland expelled four Russian diplomats in March in an effort to reduce the Kremlin’s intelligence presence in Ireland. Among them Sergey Prokopiev, a senior GU officer who was operating under diplomatic cover as a counsellor at the Russian embassy on Orwell Road.
Russia’s intelligence services, which are now regarded as a critical threat to Ireland’s national security, have cultivated contacts in most areas of Irish society and have recruited informants across the country.
Russia has also begun targeting Irish-based Ukrainians who have set up networks to send volunteers, money and military equipment to Kyiv to help its country’s armed forces fight the Russian invasion.
Trinity declined to comment on Thursday night.
How do you study at Trinity under a fake identity? 🤦♀️☹️
On here some eejits will tell you Ireland doesn’t need military investment because it’s not going to be involved in any wars.
Here’s a wake up call. Hybrid warfare is a thing, and we’re already under attack by nefarious shitholes like China and Russia.
Do people seriously believe our economic prosperity which is intrinsically linked to foreign direct investment, specifically American and British, will stick around if half the population are unwittingly assets to foreign military and industrial espionage – or we’re having elections influenced in favour of destabilising ideologies and political parties? It’ll be grand until it isn’t.
We can be pretty sure that when not studying he was up to a bit more than drinking cold cans of Dutch Gold and puking on Harcourt Street while he was here too.
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A Russian spy who attempted to infiltrate the International Criminal Court (ICC) in the Hague spent years studying at Trinity College Dublin under a bogus identity.
The Dutch authorities announced they had prevented Sergey Vladimirovich Cherkasov, 36, from taking up a position as an intern at the International Criminal Court, which is investigating war crimes in Ukraine.
Cherkasov appears to have spent years constructing a fake identity before applying for an internship position at the ICC.
The Dutch intelligence service AIVD described him as a member of the GU, the military intelligence division of the Russian armed forces.
Cherkasov is now the subject of intense investigations by garda and military intelligence, who are attempting to establish his contacts and precise movements while in Ireland.
Sources said Cherkasov had been the subject of investigations over a long period of time. It is understood that various government departments were briefed on the case on Thursday.
Cherkasov had purported to be a 33-year-old Brazilian citizen named Viktor Muller Ferreira, who had studied philosophy, politics and economics at Trinity College Dublin between 2014 and 2018.
His CV suggests he previously worked as a travel agent in Brazil. His age profile suggests he is a junior-ranking officer in the GU, which is still commonly known as the GRU.
The suspect used a flat in Ranelagh in Dublin’s southside. He moved to the United States where he studied at Johns Hopkins University in Washington DC before applying for a position at the ICC.
Cherkasov is said to have maintained a low profile in Dublin, possibly for operational reasons and to maintain his cover.
One student who studied alongside him at TCD told how few people in his year group knew the spy.
“It is a very small course, 35 people started the course. When you are in such a small course, everyone knows each other. I happened to just sit next to him at an early lecture, so I was one of the few people to meet him,” said the former student, who asked not to be named.
“We thought he was a mature student who had his own group of friends. The fact that he had a German name but was supposedly from Brazil, was always a bit suss, I suppose.”
Cherkasov was said to attend class only sporadically, but did turn up to international relation classes, which was said to be his passion. Those who met him say he rarely, if ever, mingled with strangers and had kept to himself.
Cherkasov adopted a similar approach after he moved to the United States to study American foreign policy at Johns Hopkins University.
In a tweet, Eugene Finkel, an associate professor at Johns Hopkins who specialises in Russian affairs, said he felt angered at having learned that Cherkasov was a spy.
“Now I am just exploding. I feel angry, I feel stupid, I feel naive, I feel tired. I got played. I had him in class. Twice, in fact. One class was half-Zoom during Covid, several interactions outside class,” he said.
The spy’s activities in Ireland are now the subject of inquiries by the security services and military, who are trying to clarify if he was collecting intelligence on Irish targets.
Cherkasov’s Facebook profile shows he travelled extensively throughout Ireland on a motorcycle, an activity that may indicate his was providing logistical support for other Russian spies transiting through Ireland.
Images of his travels around Ireland posted on social media did not show his face or bike registration.
The GU and its SVR foreign intelligence service are both active in Ireland collecting intelligence on politicians and people in the world of politics, business, research and academia. The two agencies are now considered the single greatest threat to Ireland’s national security along with China’s intelligence services.
The disclosure highlights how Russia’s intelligence services are using Ireland as an entry point for their agents to gain access to Europe and the United States.
This specific case also highlights the presence of Russian illegals, intelligence officers who live in the general population under bogus identities as opposed to undeclared intelligence officers who operate under diplomatic cover from embassies.
Cherkasov’s case is one of the few documented cases of Russian illegals in Europe.
The Irish and European security services have long believed that Russia has deployed large numbers of illegals across Europe, who use a variety of identities to create back stories, or legends which enables them to gain access to sensitive government agencies.
The use of a fake Brazilian identity may be connected to Ireland’s non-visa requirement for Brazilian citizens who wish to study in Ireland.
Ireland expelled four Russian diplomats in March in an effort to reduce the Kremlin’s intelligence presence in Ireland. Among them Sergey Prokopiev, a senior GU officer who was operating under diplomatic cover as a counsellor at the Russian embassy on Orwell Road.
Russia’s intelligence services, which are now regarded as a critical threat to Ireland’s national security, have cultivated contacts in most areas of Irish society and have recruited informants across the country.
Russia has also begun targeting Irish-based Ukrainians who have set up networks to send volunteers, money and military equipment to Kyiv to help its country’s armed forces fight the Russian invasion.
Trinity declined to comment on Thursday night.
How do you study at Trinity under a fake identity? 🤦♀️☹️
On here some eejits will tell you Ireland doesn’t need military investment because it’s not going to be involved in any wars.
Here’s a wake up call. Hybrid warfare is a thing, and we’re already under attack by nefarious shitholes like China and Russia.
Do people seriously believe our economic prosperity which is intrinsically linked to foreign direct investment, specifically American and British, will stick around if half the population are unwittingly assets to foreign military and industrial espionage – or we’re having elections influenced in favour of destabilising ideologies and political parties? It’ll be grand until it isn’t.
We can be pretty sure that when not studying he was up to a bit more than drinking cold cans of Dutch Gold and puking on Harcourt Street while he was here too.