Diplomat found dead outside Berlin embassy was Russian secret agent: report

German security services believe a man found dead in an alley outside the Russian embassy in Berlin last month was an undercover agent of Russia’s FSB intelligence service, Der Spiegel reported Friday.

The magazine said the body of the 35-year-old was found on the morning of October 19. It quoted security sources as saying that the man had fallen from an upper floor in the embassy.

Berlin police declined to comment and directed all questions to public prosecutors, who were not immediately available for comment. The discovery of a body outside the Russian diplomatic mission has not been previously reported.

Security sources told the magazine it was not clear how the diplomat fell and the cause of his death. Der Spiegel said the Russian embassy did not agree to the autopsy.

The magazine said the man, who has not been named, was officially listed as the embassy’s second secretary. He also belonged to the family of a senior Russian-based officer of the FSB’s 2nd Directorate, which deals with counter-terrorism.