The man has been in custody since early January, after he was arrested on suspicion of stalking a security guard who worked at the Swedish Armed Forces Radio Institute. The guard told the patrol that the man who followed him had been standing in various places around FRA for several days, and that he had previously followed him from work to home.
After this, he was also suspected of other crimes, and is now being charged with attempted espionage.
The 34-year-old was previously employed as an IT consultant at the Armed Forces between 2018 and 2022. In that work, he "received information with very high protection value," according to prosecutor Mats Ljungqvist at the National Security Affairs Unit.
"Information that I allege the suspect attempted to disclose by traveling to Moscow in November 2025 and meeting with representatives of the Russian intelligence and security services there," he said in a press release.
Feature from Russia Today
The indictment specifically names the Russian FSB and GRU. The indictment alleges that the man offered to hand over the information in exchange for protection from the Swedish state, which he said had threatened him, and for "future citizenship of the Russian Federation."
Among the evidence against him is a feature from the state-controlled television channel Russia Today, in which the man's case was discussed after his arrest in Sweden. According to the prosecutor, the film shows the Russian authorities' reaction to the man's contacts with the FSB. An FSB representative is interviewed and says that the man handed over "a lot of material."
Russophobia
The feature also discusses whether it is simply a matter of so-called "Russophobia" and whether the accusations against the man may be a way to "complete his narrative."
At the time of his arrest, the 34-year-old was registered as the principal of a company that was said to be engaged in cybersecurity, with a focus on "offensive cyber operations." However, the company had no revenue.
The man is also being held on suspicion of conspiracy to commit murder, a crime that is said to have been committed in December last year. According to the prosecutor, the target was an individual in Sweden, and the murder was partly planned in Moscow. The preliminary investigation into that part continues.
The main hearing against the 34-year-old is scheduled to begin on June 15 at Stockholm District Court. The man has denied any wrongdoing.
According to the law, espionage is the intentional transfer, transmission or disclosure of secrets - for example, defense matters - to a foreign power. The information "the disclosure of which to a foreign power could harm Sweden's security" does not have to be true.
The penalty for ordinary espionage is a maximum of six years in prison, while aggravated espionage carries a prison sentence of between four and eighteen years or life.
If there is no intention to help a foreign power, the crime is instead unauthorized employment with a secret mission.
Source: Criminal Code
