THE STRANGE TALE OF FAKE RUSSIAN SPIES

A year after the Ukraine war broke out a Russian intelligence agent boards a fishing trawler called Taurus just off the coast of Norway. He is under surveillance by the Norwegian security services after driving through the northern regions of the country. His covert meetings are noted. As he disembarks from the boat, the spy is carrying a black bag and moves back onto the mainland.

On the surface it is an exciting espionage tale of civilian vessels colluding with secret agents as part of Russia’s hybrid war against the West and is broadcast by NRK, the Norwegian state TV channel. Under the headline ‘The Shadow War’, the report breathlessly claims Russian fishing vessels could be used for spying along the Nordic coast based on an analysis of shipping data.

It is a story worthy of a Cold War thriller and its publication resulted in several articles claiming Taurus and other fishing boats were used to facilitate Russian espionage. But there is just one problem: the story was untrue. A former UK Military Intelligence officer and Norwegian journalist debunked it and even NRK admitted: “We cannot confirm the story”. And yet it resulted in the owner of Taurus, the Russian company Norebo, being sanctioned by the EU and the Norwegian government. But even more revealing is the EU admission their decision to sanction Norebo was based purely on newspaper articles and no independent sources or investigation.

The sanctioning of this obscure Russian company provides an insight into how the EU operates and its sanctions policy. The implications for the rule of law are chilling. Individuals and companies are being sanctioned by the EU on comically minimal standards of proof – social media posts, recycled online news articles and AI. Terms like “could” or “may” or “linked” are liberally used as criteria for freezing the assets of firms.

The targeting of Norebo started in November 2024, when the ‘Barents Observer’, a Norwegian newspaper, followed up the NRK story with their own conjecture. Under the headline ‘Norway kicks out Norebo in fear of intelligence gathering’, the article quoted an EU document which stated: “shipping vessels owned and operated by Norebo have been equipped with technology that may be used for espionage”.

The EU statement the ship could be part of state-sponsored Russian espionage is akin to a revolving door whereby its findings are based on media reporting which then publish the EU ruling despite it originating from its own newspaper stories in the first place.

The ‘Barent Observer’ articles implied the Norebo-owned fishing vessels were engaged in Russia state-sponsored espionage without any evidence. They claimed Russia fishing ships were “mapping critical infrastructure and conducting human intelligence gatherings in Norwegian waters”. And just for good measure they falsely stated Norebo’s owner, Vitaly Orlov, is a shadowy Russian Oligarch and “a friend of Vladimir Putin” without citing any sources.

One report stated: “In northern Norway, Norebo’s trawler Taurus is a frequent visitor. One day, the trawler suddenly left port in Tromsa and sailed in the path of a US nuclear-powered attack submarine that made port call at the same time”. The implication is it was a spying mission. But in fact, Taurus was in Tromsa for a routine stop and inspected by the Norwegian coast guard. The boat was steered by a pilot supplied by the Norwegian authorities to a refuelling pier and then left the port.

Another story claimed the Belomorye ship, also owned by Norebo, had been operating “suspiciously” near a Norwegian gas hub. In fact, the vessel’s own satellite records, which are publicly available, show the Belomorye was at the time almost 100 nautical miles away.

These articles had serious ramifications. Last May the EU implemented sanctions against Norebo and its assets were frozen in member states, markets closed, and logistic services denied. “Vessels owned and operated by Norebo show particular movement patterns that are inconsistent with regular economic practices and fishing activities”, declared the EU. “The movement patterns align with malign objectives such as repeatedly being in the vicinity of or loitering near critical infrastructure and military sites”.

“The movement patterns have been linked by EU member states to the Russian state-sponsored surveillance campaign that employs civilian fishing trawlers to conduct espionage missions directed against civilian and military infrastructure in the North and Baltic Sea…Shipping vessels owned and operated by Norebo have also been equipped with technology that may be used for espionage”

UK intelligence analysts have no doubt Russia is conducting espionage operations off the coast of Norway. But they say targeting Norebo is simply wrong. “The Norebo sanctions are based on manipulation from NRK (the state broadcaster)”, said Ole Fostad, a former intelligence analyst who specialised in assessing cyber threats and is now a journalist. “These sanctions are based on imaginary wrongdoings, flawed evidence and does not hold scrutiny”.

In response Norebo deny the spying allegations and point to the Norwegian Coast Guard saying they have never accused Russian fishing vessels of doing anything illegal. “We do not engage in any non-fishing activities”, the owner Vitaly Orlov told me. “We are a purely civilian business. Norebo is the victim of an attack by competitors who made clearly and provably false allegations which have been accepted by the EU without any investigation because we are Russian. That is why this challenge matters so much. It is about protecting our name, our families and the integrity of our business. There is no evidence behind the decision to sanction Norebo, just innuendo spread by low-rate blogs because we are Russian”.

The company has filed an appeal against the EU sanctions and will rely on testimony by a UK military intelligence officer who served in the Ministry of Defence for 38 years as a specialist in military/dual use equipment, covert operations and interpreting vessel movement data.

After reviewing the Automatic Identification System (AIS) data, satellites, and vessel logs of nine fishing vessels owned by Norebo, the military intelligence officer concluded there was no unauthorised entries. “Despite EU espionage concerns over advanced communications suites and sensitive cargo, uninterrupted AIS broadcasts, routine port stays, the ships’ movements demonstrate purely commercial activity”, he stated. “In every instance (of alleged spying) the underlying AIS and operational data demonstrate routine commercial or mechanical explanations rather than clandestine activity”. He concluded there was no evidence of surveillance patterns and the Norwegian journalists simply misunderstood and/or misinterpreted the shipping data.

In response the EU disclosed the basis on which it sanctioned Norebo. Its sole criteria for freezing the company’s assets were online media stories. There were no documents or expert evidence or intelligence sources. Instead, the decision was based purely on English translations of foreign-language articles. On close inspection, they appear to have been used by automated tools and so were not certified translations. And so inevitably, they contained mistranslations and distortions of the original stories.

No doubt the journalists misinterpreted and misunderstood the complex satellite tracking data. But despite repeated requests for comment, Thomas Nilsen, editor of the Barents Observer, declined to do so. Norebo is now suing the newspaper for libel and last week filed a statement of claim.

The EU – with its £620 million annual budget and 3,500 employees - appears incapable of an impartial, fact-based investigation. And yet it has the power to sanction individuals and companies which results in people losing their jobs and businesses closing. In the Norebo case, the EU admits their decision was based solely on news outlets and broadcasters. They do not pretend the sanctioning is based on evidence. Instead, they claim, “there is a sufficiently specific, precise and consistent set of indicia to establish Norebo implements and supports actions by the Government of the Russian Federation”.

The irony of the EU sanctioning a corporation without proof is the uncanny similarity to the Russian state arbitrarily seizing the assets of companies because they funded the opposition. Such actions, anti-corruption campaigner Gretta Fenner told me, are done by dictators not by democracies that adhere to the rule of law.