Polish Official Charged with Assisting Russian Intelligence in Creating Fake Identities for Spies

Polish prosecutors have charged a former civil registry employee in Warsaw with espionage, accusing him of helping Russian intelligence fabricate false identities for undercover operatives. The case reveals how Moscow’s intelligence services allegedly exploited local administrative systems to build and sustain spy networks inside Europe.

The National Prosecutor’s Office announced that Tomasz L., a former employee of the Warsaw Civil Registry Office, has been indicted for espionage and abuse of public office. According to the indictment, between 2017 and March 2022, he acted under the direction of Russian security services, providing information that “could have harmed the interests of the Republic of Poland.”

While employed in the archival department, Tomasz L. allegedly used his access to databases and records to copy, photograph, and extract confidential documents. These included birth and marriage certificates, foreign citizens’ records, diplomatic correspondence, official document templates, and internal instructions. Investigators say this information allowed Russian intelligence to forge authentic-looking documents and create false identities for so-called “illegals” — deep-cover agents posing as civilians abroad.

Prosecutors allege that Tomasz L. transmitted the stolen material using specialized radio communication equipment provided by Russian handlers. He reportedly received training from Russian operatives on how to use these devices securely. According to the case files, the recipient of his transmissions was a Russian intelligence officer whose identity has been confirmed.

Poland’s Internal Security Agency (ABW) arrested Tomasz L. on March 17, 2022, the same day his alleged espionage activities were uncovered. He has remained in custody ever since. His detention was recently extended by the Warsaw Court of Appeal for another six months, until March 25, 2026. While Tomasz L. initially gave statements during interrogation, he has since exercised his right to remain silent and denies all charges.

The case against him adds to a growing list of espionage investigations in Poland and across Central Europe since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. In December 2024, prosecutors filed additional charges of espionage against Igor Rogov, a Russian political exile previously accused of endangering lives and undermining Poland’s national economy.

Poland remains one of the EU’s most active counterintelligence fronts, with authorities repeatedly warning that Russian infiltration efforts are expanding beyond military and political targets — now reaching into civic institutions and administrative networks once thought immune to foreign manipulation.