Thanks for posting the British newspaper story on European economic intrigue.
I don't doubt for a New York minute that the Germans would do the same thing as the British. They might even do it better.
The point I am trying to make is that in a world of complex interest rate and forex speculation any inside knowledge could be a very dangerous thing.
Possibly these intelligence cowboys, free-booters and wildcards are doing more damage than anyone realizes.
Sincerely & Fraternally, Tom
Doug Henwood wrote:
> [apropos Tom Lehman's point about British intelligence spying on the
> Germans. I wouldn't be surprised if the Germans spied on the Bank of
> England, but if they did, what of value would they have learned?]
>
> Copyright 1998 Times Newspapers Limited
> Sunday Times
>
> September 27, 1998, Sunday
>
> SECTION: Home news
>
> LENGTH: 700 words
>
> HEADLINE: Bundesbank orders mole hunt to find British spy
>
> BYLINE: David Leppard and Chris Hastings
>
> BODY:
>
> GERMANY'S central bank has launched an inquiry into claims that one of its
> officials has been working for British intelligence.
>
> The mole hunt follows claims by Richard Tomlinson, a renegade former MI6
> officer, that Britain's overseas intelligence agency obtained inside
> information from a Bundesbank spy.
>
> The spy, codenamed Orcada, is said to have provided MI6 and Treasury chiefs
> with details of Germany's proposed interest-rate movements and its
> negotiating position during talks on the Maastricht treaty.
>
> The allegations could lead to criminal charges in Germany. They were being
> examined this weekend by Robin Cook, the foreign secretary.
>
> In an interview with Der Spiegel, the German news magazine, Tomlinson
> yesterday said he might consider revealing more details about the
> Bundesbank spy if Cook denied the story.
>
> He also named three British banks which he claimed had close contacts with
> MI6. He said they were interested in obtaining intelligence about Germany's
> economic plans.
>
> The former spy said the Royal Bank of Scotland was particularly close to
> the secret service. He claimed that it was involved in transferring money
> to many of MI6's undercover agents abroad.
>
> Tomlinson was jailed for six months last year for breaking the Official
> Secrets Act. In a dossier published on the Internet earlier this month, he
> described how MI6 had recruited a Bundesbank official.
>
> Tomlinson claims the Ger man official has been on the MI6 payroll since
> 1986. He is said to be among the best paid of all its agents. His
> activities are carefully monitored by another MI6 officer working under
> diplomatic cover in the British embassy in Bonn.
>
> Tomlinson's claims have been greeted with scepticism by some intelligence
> experts in Britain. But they are being carefully examined by the Bundesbank
> in Frankfurt.
>
> Wolfgang Moerke, the bank's chief spokesman, said: "We take these
> allegations very seriously. We are investigating the issue. But we will
> wait until the end of our investigation before we comment any further."
>
> Otto Hauser, a German gov ernment spokesman, hinted that Tomlinson's
> allegations could be referred to the prosecutor if the bank finds evidence
> of a mole.
>
> A Foreign Office spokesman said Cook would study details of the allegations
> over the next few days. John Wadham, Tomlinson's lawyer, passed a dossier
> on the case to the Foreign Office and to the parliamentary committee on
> intelligence and security chaired by Tom King last week.
>
> Wadham said he could not discuss the claims because of the Official Secrets
> Act. However, he did say they related to "malpractice and illegality by
> MI6".
>
> Any suggestion that the security services have infiltrated Germany's
> premier financial institution will embarrass Cook, who has placed great
> emphasis on Labour's new "ethical" foreign policy.
>
> In letters to the parliamentary intelligence and security committee,
> Tomlinson claimed that MI6 had also targeted other allies, including
> France, Spain, Italy and Switzerland. He added that MI6 had a special unit
> which tried to steal economic and military secrets from Britain's European
> partners.
>
> Tomlinson said the operations were "accorded the same level of secrecy and
> need-to-know indoctrination as highly sensitive Russian casework".
>
> His letters also reveal details of an alleged MI6 proposal to assassinate
> President Slobodan Milosevic of Serbia.
>
> Speaking from Switzerland, where he is effectively in hiding from the
> British authorities, Tomlinson said that he wanted Cook to act on his
> claims about the Milosevic assassination plot and the Bundesbank spy.
>
> Wadham also represents David Shayler, a former MI5 officer, who is in jail
> in France waiting extradition to London on suspicion of breaching the
> Official Secrets Act.
>
> Last month Cook ordered a review of Shayler's claims that MI6 was involved
> in a plot to kill Colonel Gadaffi, the Libyan dictator. The inquiry found
> no evidence of direct MI6 involvement.
>
> Shayler will appear in front of a French judge on Wednesday to ask for
> bail. His parents were allowed to see him for the first time in La Sante
> prison last week. His only visitors until then had been lawyers.
>
> LANGUAGE: ENGLISH
>
> LOAD-DATE: September 28, 1998