The Estonian Spy Case - Herman Simm

[Stan]

Not too sure how to comment here as I worked right next door to him for several years. Honestly, the only thing I ever saw pass his desk was EFTO

Our PFP and subsequent NATO days had me pining away for a job at the local kindergarten (although the free trips to Paris and Brussels were not that bad during the winter months). He may (now) be a modern day Russian puke, but a spy and seller of secrets?

If he and his better half get 15 years, they'll both have died of natural causes before their time runs out. Gotta be something better to do with them than tie up the judiciary system, having 60 year-old folk watching videos in prison

[jmm99]

from Stan
... as I worked right next door to him for several years ...

you might be called as a witness for one side or the other. Should I get out my Miranda card ?

Seriously, you make a couple of good points.

... but a spy and seller of secrets?

Not an unusual reaction of neighbors in espionage - and other - cases, for that matter. The innocent person will appear to be, well, innocent; but so also the agent (assuming he or she has any tradecraft).

So, I'll wait on the evidence - realizing that US prosecutors usually do not pull the trigger on these cases unless they have good evidence - the case itself raises too much bad PR for the nation to be other than very careful.

Gotta be something better to do with them than tie up the judiciary system...

If they are innocent, then they should tough it out. At least, that is what I would tell them.

If they are guilty (which I would not directly ask them), their solution is to work a plea bargain - giving up everything they know. If they are candid, damage assessment is easier and would justify a lighter sentence.

You're right about another thing - facing prison in your 60s ain't the way to go.

[Stan]

The latest in the Simm case made it to the papers this morning. Declaring Simm received 1,000 euros a month (but without indicating just how long he had received payments, or, how he received them).

The Interior Minister is quoted as saying Simm did not lead a luxurious lifestyle, but continued, that one can purchase smaller things and need not purchase land to be rich.

The amount of these payments has now cast doubt among both the defense and prosecuting attorneys as quoted in Õhtuleht.

EDIT:
Yet another paper (considered the source of the above article) indicates that the justice department would not have arrested Simm based on the facts above. Päevaleht also discloses Simm's MOD salary and Police pension. Both figures much larger than what he is accused of secretly receiving.

Not looking good for a spy novel !

[jmm99]

there (must be ?) (should be ?) more meat.

1. His real estate holdings (much cited in initial articles) seem to be family, at least in part:

Estonia's spy scandal hits relatives of Herman Simm
Toomas Hõbemägi
17.10.2008 09:32
....
Several properties that belong to the alleged spy Herman Simm and were seized by the prosecutor were co-owned by his relatives.
.....
According to the real estate registry, Simms own seven properties including large land holdings in Raplamaa, Suure-Jaani, Ida-Virumaa, Saue, Padise and Pärnu. Among others, the prosecutor seized his 500 square metre apartment near Tallinn.

For instance Paul and Martin Künnap, the sons of his stepsister, are co-owning three properties with Simm. The three own 100 hectares of agricultural land in Viljandimaa that historically belonged to Herman Simm’s father and were returned to Simm.

Paul Künnap said that they have been taking steps to divide the properties. “This process has now stopped because of the seizure of properties.”

http://balticbusinessnews.com/Defaul...ment=1#comment

2. As to the money, the English language article is too laconic - here

As I glean Estonian (which ain't much), the key parts to the money story are here:

Päevalehe andmetel sai Herman Simm võõrriigile edastatud salajase teabe eest 1000 eurot ehk 15 600 krooni kuus, mis teeb pisut alla 200 000 krooni aastas.
....
Palk oli suurem

18 000 krooni kuus

teenis Herman Simm viimati kaitseministeeriumis. Sellele lisandus politseipension.

50 000 krooni kuus

teenis Simmide perekond ametlikult kokku.

So, eminent translator of things Estonian and Lingala, traduction, s.v.p.

--------------
Odd that he would have admitted to the espionage as some stories have said. Wonder if that is true ?

[Stan]

there (must be ?) (should be ?) more meat.

1. His real estate holdings (much cited in initial articles) seem to be family, at least in part:

http://balticbusinessnews.com/Defaul...ment=1#comment

Yep, 95 hectares spread among family members in part ownership is not exactly what I would have concluded as high on the hog. Even in my 13 years here, I bought and later sold over 45 hectares. Too easy to conclude today that 95 hectares equals big bucks.

2. As to the money, the English language article is too laconic - here

That's because Estonian's are translating the text from business daily Äripäev and/or Ärileht, and, nobody is checking the grammar Imagine having to use articles and prepositions in the future tense, when your mother tongue does not (have nor use them).

As I glean Estonian (which ain't much), the key parts to the money story are here:

So, eminent translator of things Estonian and Lingala, traduction, s.v.p.

Odd that he would have admitted to the espionage as some stories have said. Wonder if that is true ?

Traduction avec plaisir

Päevalehe andmetel sai Herman Simm võõrriigile edastatud salajase teabe eest 1000 eurot ehk 15 600 krooni kuus, mis teeb pisut alla 200 000 krooni aastas.
According to Päevaleht's data, Herman Simm received 1,000 Euros per month (or 15,600 kroons, which is just under 200,000 kroons per year) for forwarding secret information to a foreign country
....
Palk oli suurem
18 000 krooni kuus
teenis Herman Simm viimati kaitseministeeriumis. Sellele lisandus politseipension.
50 000 krooni kuus

(but his) Salary was larger at 18,000 kroons per month from the MOD, in addition to his police retirement of 50,000 kroons per month

The article's author would then conclude that Herman had more than enough, and need not sell secrets

However, the average educated professional here barely makes what Herman received after more than 10 years at the MOD. Most middle class folks clear 10 to 12,000 each month ($1,000.00).

I understand as of Friday afternoon, Herman has admitted to nothing.

[jmm99]

15,600 - alleged "spy pay"
18,000 - MOD salary
50,000 - police pension

do not add up to what would be expected to turn someone. Herman was well above middle-class without the 15.6K (police pension looks huge = 4 middle class families).

I think we should indulge ourselves here in the presumption of innocence, until some better evidence turns up - e.g., Swiss bank account, ideology or an admission by Herman.

One wonders if Herman made some enemies when he was a cop ?

[jmm99]

This article reviews the case, but provides little in new evidence other than the alleged radio mentioned in the second paragraph. The article also outlines the interest in the case by NATO Security - damage assessment time. So, if that part of the article is accurate, someone did something very bad.

11/17/2008
WESTERN SECRETS FOR MOSCOW
Estonian Spy Scandal Shakes NATO and EU
By Holger Stark

For years an Estonian government official has apparently been collecting the most intimate secrets of NATO and the EU -- and passing them on to the Russians. The case is a disaster for Brussels.

Communications between the suspected top spy and his commanding officer seemed like a throwback to the Cold War. Investigators allege that in order to send messages to his Russian contact, Herman Simm, 61, used a converted radio which looked like a relic from yesteryear's world of consumer electronics. ....
....
Although Simm was arrested with his wife Heete in the Estonian capital Tallinn on Sept. 21, this spy story -- which has been largely kept under wraps until now -- primarily concerns the European Union and NATO based in faraway Brussels. Since Simm was responsible for dealing with classified information in Tallinn, he had access to nearly all documents exchanged within the EU and NATO. Officials who are familiar with the case assume that "virtually everything" that circulates between EU member states was passed on to the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service, the SVR -- including confidential analyses by NATO on the Kosovo crisis, the war in Georgia and even the missile defense program. Investigators believe that Simm was a "big fish."
.....
Meanwhile, a number of investigative teams from the EU and NATO have flown to Tallinn to probe the extent of the intelligence disaster. The investigation is being led by the NATO Office for Security, which is headed by an American official. As investigators pursue their work, they continue to unearth mounting evidence pointing to the enormity of the betrayal. A German government official has called the situation a "catastrophe," and Jaanus Rahumägi, a member of Estonia's national parliament who heads the parliamentary oversight committee for the government security agency, fears "historic damage."

NATO officials in Brussels are comparing Simm's alleged spying to the case of Aldrich Ames, a former CIA agent who for years funneled information to the Russian intelligence service, the KGB. However, the extensive fallout of the Estonian leaks makes this the worst espionage scandal since the end of the Cold War......

http://www.spiegel.de/international/...590891,00.html

European Code procedure works a bit differently from our criminal procedure. The accused is detained (not necessarily under conditions of probable cause as we know that concept). The case is assigned to an investigative judge who has powers akin to a one-man grand jury. The time interval can be long between that assignment and the issuance of what is equivalent to our indictment. In some ways, the European procedures resemble the DTA and MCA procedures.