As disclosed by Uppdrag Granskning, the investigative TV programme by Swedish Public Broadcasting SVT, radio intelligence centre (FRA) of Swedish Defence Forces is snooping after the Baltic States and Russian private enterprises, sharing data with USA.
As evidenced by documents from FRA and the US security agency NSA meeting in April this year, Sweden is spying after the Baltic countries and Russian energy companies.
«Thank Sweden for its continued work with the Russian target and emphasise the primary role the FRA, as a main partner, is playing, working with the Russian target including the Russian leadership. The information, collected by FRA from means of communication, is unique in all areas,» states the NSA document.
As confirmed by an Uppdrag Granskning source, the Baltic region is in the orbit of interests for FRA. «It is hard to define the Baltic region as anything else than the Baltic States and probably also Poland,» said the source. «FRA had a mission there as the states located in the Baltic region were set free. They had to investigate in which direction things were moving. Now, they have found a new niche,» the source said, hinting that FRA is monitoring communication connection between the Baltic States and Russia, a large part of which passes through Sweden.
Latvia was not surprised over Swedish snooping, neither over the information being forwarded to USA. «It would bother me if they snooped after me, for instance; but snooping on Latvian territory after Russian interests, for instance, does not surprise me,» said Artis Pabriks, the Latvian minister of defence.
FRA and NSA did not wish to comment on the issue.