German with access to parliament plans charged with spying for Russia

A German man has been charged with spying for Russia after he allegedly passed on floor plans for the Berlin parliament to a Russian intelligence agent, the attorney general said on Thursday.

Identified only as Jens F, the man had worked for a company that repeatedly carried out work on behalf of the Bundestag, the seat of German parliament, inspecting portable electrical devices used in the building.

This gave him access to PDF files of the floor plans, which he sent "on his own initiative" to an employee of the Russian embassy in Berlin who worked for the GRU military intelligence agency, the attorney general said in a statement.