“ASML worker arrested last year had links to Russian agency AVR”

A Russian national who was arrested several months ago on suspicion of stealing secrets from Dutch chip machinery makers ASML and NXP was in contact with the Russian secret service SVR, according to Dutch security service AIVD.

This information was discussed in court on Thursday during a pro-forma hearing against the engineer, who was arrested towards the end of last year, broadcaster NOS reported.

The AIVD stated that there was contact between the man and another Russian national who works for the Russian foreign intelligence service SVR.

Nieuwsuur reported in December that the man, a Russian engineer, had been arrested in the Netherlands. At the time, he was said to have stolen company secrets, including instruction handbooks and digital documents, and shared them with another Russian national.

During Thursday’s hearing, the public prosecutor said the information was passed on via the file-sharing system Google Drive. The suspect may also have taken USB sticks with information to Russia personally, the department said. He is known to have made several “very short” trips to Moscow.

The case is not the only time Russian agents in the Netherlands have been linked to the SVR.

In 2020, the AIVD said two Russian diplomats were working for the service, while in 2022, NOS reported that some of the 17 Russian diplomats expelled by the Netherlands also worked for the agency. They were said to have been collecting information about computer chip technology.