A Norwegian court on Monday remanded a man to a four-week pre-trial detention following his arrest at the weekend on suspicion of espionage.
The Norwegian national in his 50s was accused of sharing information with a Russian intelligence officer, Line Nyvoll Nygaard, prosecutor with the Norwegian security service PST, told reporters.
“We consider that this can harm fundamental Norwegian interests,’’ she told reporters before the Oslo district court hearing.
She said the suspect was arrested on Saturday at a restaurant in Oslo, where he was holding a meeting with a Russian intelligence officer. The arrest took place without any incident.
“Our view is that via his work at DNV he has had access to information of great interest for other states,’’ Nygaard said.
Norwegian news agency NTB cited the court ruling as saying that the man, who was not named, had admitted to passing on information in return for sizeable amounts of money, but denied any intent of harming the national interest.
The man was employed by DNV GL, a classification society that advises the maritime, oil and gas industries.
A spokesman for DNV GL said they were cooperating with the PST, but did not comment on reports that the man’s field of knowledge brought him into close contact with the Norwegian defence industry.
The man’s lawyer Marianne Darre-Naess said her client denied the charges but was willing to cooperate with the police.
Prime Minister Erna Solberg has told VG that she was aware of the arrest, but had no further comment.
