Bundestag deputy from the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) Christian Hirte hired a Russian citizen with ties to the FSB in 2023, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung reports.
The publication specifies his name as Konstantin. Before Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, he worked in the office of the German Konrad Adenauer Foundation in Moscow. He met Hirte at a conference in Russia. After the outbreak of war, Konstantin left the Russian Federation and informed Christian Hirte.
In the spring of 2023, the German MP offered him a job in the Bundestag. Konstantin was responsible for relations with the Russian opposition in the CDU/CSU parliamentary group, in particular he organised a speech by Russian opposition politician Mikhail Khodorkovsky in the German parliament. The politician’s press office said it was aware of the Russian’s past and was “cautious” about him.
Christian Hirte sent a request to law enforcement agencies to verify the Russian’s identity. At the end of 2024, co-operation with Konstantin was terminated after law enforcement agencies found out that he might be linked to Russian intelligence services.
The publication “Siren” found out that it is about Konstantin Khrapov. Allegedly, he previously worked in the CASE organisation founded by Khodorkovsky. Khodorkovsky’s press service has not yet commented on the “Siren” reports.
Konstantin Khrapov is not the first FSB agent who worked in the Bundestag. Journalists earlier found out that Vladimir Sergienko, a former aide to the deputy from the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, was recruited by the Russian secret service. He was stripped of his German citizenship in 2024.