- Yuri Shvets
Yuri B. Shvets (born 1952) was a Major in the
KGB during the years 1980-1990. From April 1985 to 1987 he worked in the WashingtonRezidentura of the KGB.He graduated in International Law from the
Peoples' Friendship University of Russia when it was still named thePatrice Lumumba Peoples' Friendship University Shvets recruited two key sources of political intelligence whom he referred to as
Sputnitsa andSocrates . Sputnisa is identified as a journalist working in Washington, and Socrates as a former Carter administration aide with strong ties toGreece . In his 2005 book "Spy Handler: Memoir of a KGB Officer",Victor Cherkashin alleges that "Socrates" wasJohn Helmer and Sputnitsa the lateNew Statesman journalistClaudia Wright . [ [http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2-1424438,00.html MI6 double agent was 'betrayed by a journalist' - Times Online ] ] However, Cherkashin also claims that contrary to Shvets' assertions, Helmer was "never an agent or even a target" of the KGB.After publishing a book describing his exploits and ultimate falling out with the KGB, Shvets was banned from foreign travel. In 1994, he secretly made his way to America where he now resides.
In 2006, Shvets emerged as a potentially key witness in the poisoning of ex-FSB officer
Alexander Litvinenko . In an interview with theBBC , broadcast on16 December 2006 , Shvets said that he and Litvinenko had compiled a report investigating tha activities of senior Kremlin officials on behalf of a British company looking to invest "dozens of millions of dollars" in a project in Russia. Shvets said the dossier was so incriminating about one senior Kremlin official, who was not named, it was likely that Litvinenko was murdered in revenge. He alleged that Litvinenko had shown the dossier to another business associate,Andrei Lugovoi , who had worked for the KGB and later the FSB. Shvets alleged that Lugovoi was still an FSB informant and he had passed the dossier to members of the spy service. Shvets says he was interviewed about his allegations by Scotland Yard detectives investigating Litvinenko's murder.References
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