Jens Asbjørn Bøgen
Expert suggests, the official might have been a Russian spy, possibly about to defect.
A sudden death at a foreign mission in Cyprus has drawn quiet scrutiny from analysts and journalists
The case centers on a Russian diplomatic employee whose role, according to reports, went beyond routine embassy work.
The Russian embassy in Cyprus announced on social media that its employee Aleksey Panov died on January 8, saying his death was a suicide and that his body would be sent back to Russia.
The post did not provide further details, but the Cypriotic media, Philenews, reports that the post-mortem found that Panov died by hanging.
Was he a spy?
Dmitry Khmelnitsky, a researcher of Russian influence abroad and the author of the book Russian Agents of Influence in Germany, as well as an investigation into the activities of intelligence services in Cyprus, told Russian news outlet Ekho that, according to his sources, the 41-year-old Panov was a GRU officer holding the rank of captain.
He also said Cypriot police were not immediately allowed onto the embassy premises.
Khmelnytskyi further reported that Cypriot authorities were not given access to a suicide note Panov was said to have left.
Intelligence background
Ekho reported that Panov had worked for Russian military intelligence and was involved in installing surveillance equipment inside and outside the embassy.
According to Khmelnytskyi’s sources, Panov was a 41-year-old GRU officer with the rank of captain. Before his posting to Cyprus, he reportedly worked at a Moscow institute connected to radio engineering.
Khmelnytskyi said Panov’s duties in Cyprus included maintaining surveillance systems at the embassy and possibly beyond its grounds.
Expert doubts
“If the cause of death had been personal circumstances, it’s unclear why his death was concealed for so long. That suggests there was something that put them in a difficult position, and negotiations with Moscow went on for four days. I do not rule out that he may have been preparing to defect, which was uncovered and ‘prevented’ – something that is entirely typical for Soviet and Russian intelligence services,” Khmelnytskyi said according to Ekho.
He added that Russian embassies increasingly function as intelligence centers rather than diplomatic missions.
The editorial has been able to find any public information about Aleksey Panov.
In the footsteps of Putin
If you think using diplimatic missions for undercover operations sounds familiar, you’re not half wrong.
In fact, the Russian President, Vladimir Putin, served as a KGB Foreign Intelligence Officer in the former East Germany for five years before the fall of the Soviet Union.
His official identity however was of a translator or a trade representative.
Sources: Echo, RBC-Ukraine, Telegram, Philenews, The Moscow Times
