Sergei Vagin, above, flanked by CTI agents. Through his lawyer, he denies being a Russian spy. The Russian embassy in Bogot\u00e1 called the allegation \u201cfake news.\u201d (Image: Colprensa)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nColombian authorities allege Sergei Vagin, 36, laundered $146 million from Russian sports bettors through bank accounts opened in Colombia with personal details \u201crented\u201d from locals.<\/p>\n
They claim he used some of this money to ferment \u201cpolitical unrest\u201d and fund anti-government riots in the Latin American country.<\/strong><\/p>\nVagin\u2019s lawyer says he\u2019s not a Russian spy, just an \u201cinnocent criminal\u201d trying to operate a regular illegal sports betting ring.<\/p>\n
Codename: \u2018Servac\u2019<\/strong><\/h2>\nThe suspect was arrested by military police in the Bogot\u00e1 suburb of Suba on March 30, along with six other people. Among them was Mauricio Garcia, a former agent of the CTI, Colombia\u2019s equivalent of the FBI.<\/p>\n
\n
According to local reports, wire intercepts allowed Colombian counter-intelligence investigators to identify Vagin and a larger network of Russian operatives with the help of US signals intelligence. Authorities claim Vagin is a Russian agent, codenamed \u201cServac,\u201d who filmed some of the riots he is accused of funding before reporting back to a handler in Moscow named \u201cDimas.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Colombia was engulfed by demonstrations and rioting last year, largely a protest against corruption, increased taxes, and health care reforms proposed by President Ivan Duque Marquez.<\/p>\n
It is not immediately clear what interest the Kremlin would have in destabilizing the Marquez administration. The Russian Embassy in Bogot\u00e1 denied the allegation in a statement earlier this month.<\/p>\n
\u2018Crazy, Incoherent<\/strong>\u2019<\/h2>\n\u201cMr. Vagin is a simple analyst who offers his services to a business of sports betting. He has no link at all to the government of Russia or this embassy,\u201d an embassy spokesperson said, as translated by Finance Colombia<\/em>.<\/p>\n\u201cImagine how much money Colombian contributors would be able to save if they had cleared the suspicions of this Russian citizen across the mechanisms of interstate police action,\u201d they continued.<\/p>\n
We are attentive to the detention of the Russian citizen Sergei Vagin on March 30 of 2022 by the Colombian forces of public order,” <\/strong>the Russian Embassy added. “We hope that the competent organs offer impartiality and adherence to the law with regards to this citizen of the Russian Federation.\u201d<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\nThe embassy claimed espionage reports were \u201ccrazy and incoherent \u2026 a typical example of fake news,\u201d and part of the \u201cWestern information mainstream characterized by a high degree of Russophobia and a blind fury towards everything linked to Russia.\u201d<\/p>\n
In December 2020, Colombia expelled two alleged Russian spies, Alexander Paristov and Alexander Nikolayevich Belousov. That was for recruiting agents and gathering information on Colombian natural resources, military capabilities, and the energy grid, according to authorities.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A Russian national arrested in Colombia and accused of spying for the Kremlin has been charged with offenses related to illegal sports betting. Colombian authorities allege Sergei Vagin, 36, laundered $146 million from Russian sports bettors through bank accounts opened in Colombia with personal details \u201crented\u201d from locals. They claim he used some of this […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":36,"featured_media":209255,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1074],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
\u2018Russian Spy\u2019 Arrested in Colombia, Charged With Sports Betting Crimes<\/title>\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n\t \n\t \n\t \n \n \n \n \n \n\t \n\t \n\t \n