Garda Headquarters has said an active criminal investigation is “ongoing” into allegations that a national politician has links with Russian intelligence services.
The statement followed a report in The Journal on Tuesday, which said the investigation had finished and that it had “exonerated” the Oireachtas member.
The article said an officer of the Special Detective Unit had sent confirmation to the politician that, according to the report, “nothing had been found to suggest he had ever spied for Russia” or had worked for Russian agents.
Asked about the status of the investigation, a Garda HQ statement said: “An Garda Síochána is continuing an ongoing active criminal investigation into this matter. An Garda Síochána has no further comment.”
The original allegation was published in The Sunday Times last October, with headlines stating that Russian President Vladimir Putin “has an agent” in the Oireachtas. Articles alleged it was the first known case of “infiltration” by a hostile intelligence service.
The articles alleged that the politician was an “agent of influence” of Russia – describing a person in a position to potentially influence policy or political narratives and/or make introductions – as opposed to an active spy.
The Sunday Times articles detailed cases of alleged attempts by Russian intelligence to approach and meet the politician, and appear to relate to 2019 and 2020.
The Garda National Crime and Security Intelligence Service has been co-ordinating an investigation into the matter, which long precede the media reports.
The SDU – which is the operational arm of the service – is leading the investigation. The politician at the centre of the allegations had no comment to make.