Embassy in Brazil Embassy ● Roster captured

Folha de S. Paulo reported on April 9th that “the Brazilian Intelligence Agency (Abin) discovered a Russian spy operating in Brazil who posed as a member of the diplomatic corps at his country’s embassy in Brasília. Sergei Alexandrovitch Chumilov left Brazil after Abin’s counterintelligence sector identified him as a spy for one of Russia’s intelligence services. He worked to recruit Brazilians as informants. His activity was confirmed to Folha by officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and other government areas. When contacted, Abin stated that it neither denies nor comments on counterespionage cases. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that it monitors but “does not publicly comment on cases of this nature due to their confidential nature.” The Russian Embassy in Brasília also declined to comment. Chumilov entered Brazil in 2018, according to information from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, to serve as a first secretary at the embassy in the federal capital. In addition to his position, he identified himself as a representative of the Russian House in Brazil (Russky Dom), linked to the Russian federal agency Rossotrudnichestvo. Rossotrudnichestvo is the agency for “affairs of collaboration with the community of independent states, compatriots abroad, and international humanitarian cooperation.” The agency is part of the structure of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The ministry is headed by Sergei Lavrov, who visited Brazil and met with President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) in February. The spy’s departure from Brazil in July 2023 came after a request from the Russian government. Reports obtained by Folha indicate that, after Abin discovered his actual activity, there was a diplomatic effort for the country itself to request his departure. In these cases, it is common for this procedure to be carried out discreetly to avoid “diplomatic embarrassments,” according to officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In recent years, Brazil has recorded at least three cases of Russian spies. The most well-known is that of Sergei Vladimirovitch Tcherkasov, who was arrested in 2022 after using Brazilian identity to infiltrate the International Criminal Court in The Hague, Netherlands.”

The Wall Street Journal published this article on July 2nd stating that “the double life of a suspected Russian spy arrested in the far north of Norway began more than a decade earlier in this corn-and-soybean producing town a half a world away, Brazilian authorities say. Norwegian authorities say a university researcher carrying Brazilian documentation is actually a deep-cover agent for Moscow, charging him with espionage. Investigators traced his Brazilian citizenship to a fraudulently obtained birth certificate from Padre Bernardo, in what has become a familiar pattern of identity theft and spycraft originating from this South American country. Another Russian using a forged Brazilian identity is incarcerated in Brazil and faces spying charges in the U.S. Dutch authorities stopped him last year as he allegedly attempted to infiltrate the International Criminal Court as an intern. A third suspected Russian spy who lived for years under a Brazilian identity in Rio de Janeiro is missing. The incidents have sparked an investigation in Brazil into whether Moscow is using the country as an incubator for deep-cover agents seeking to infiltrate the West — and have put Brazil in an uncomfortable international spotlight. Brazilian investigators have offered few public details about their probe, but they believe more covert agents could be lurking undetected within the country or around the world, according to people familiar with the matter. The Russian Embassy in Brasília didn’t respond to requests for comment on the allegations of spying. Moscow has denied that Russian agents are covertly operating in Brazil, Norway or elsewhere. For the U.S., the two alleged agents now in custody also present an opportunity for a possible prisoner exchange. U.S. officials have said they are engaging with countries holding Russian citizens and are open to incorporating such prisoners in a deal aimed at freeing Americans held in Russia. That includes Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, who is being detained on a charge of espionage that he, the Journal and the U.S. government strongly deny.”