Herman Simm (born 29 May 1947 in
Suure-Jaani
Suure-Jaani is a Populated places in Estonia, town in the northern part of the county of Viljandi County, Viljandimaa in Põhja-Sakala Parish, Põhja-Sakala rural municipality, 25 kilometres north of the town of Viljandi. Until 2017, Suure-Jaani ...
) is a former chief of the
Estonia
Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, a ...
n
Defence Ministry
{{unsourced, date=February 2021
A ministry of defence or defense (see American and British English spelling differences#-ce.2C -se, spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an often-used name for the part of a g ...
's security department and a convicted Russian spy.
The Simm case became the first since the restoration of
Estonia
Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, a ...
's independence in 1991 in which an actual agent was identified, tried, and
convicted
In law, a conviction is the verdict reached by a court of law finding a defendant guilty of a crime. The opposite of a conviction is an acquittal (that is, "not guilty"). In Scotland, there can also be a verdict of "not proven", which is consid ...
of
treason
Treason is the crime of attacking a state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its diplo ...
.
Professional career and espionage
Herman Simm was inducted into the
Soviet Interior Ministry as a
Militsiya
''Militsiya'' ( rus, милиция, , mʲɪˈlʲitsɨjə) was the name of the police forces in the Soviet Union (until 1991) and in several Eastern Bloc countries (1945–1992), as well as in the non-aligned SFR Yugoslavia (1945–1992). The ...
officer in 1970 and worked in the
Estonian SSR
The Estonian SSR,, russian: Эстонская ССР officially the Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic,, russian: Эстонская Советская Социалистическая Республика was an ethnically based adminis ...
until 1991, reaching the rank of
Polkovnik
''Polkovnik'' (russian: полковник, lit=regimentary; pl, pułkownik) is a military rank used mostly in Slavic-speaking countries which corresponds to a colonel in English-speaking states and oberst in several German-speaking and Scandin ...
(Colonel). After Estonia's independence, during which he played a significant role in helping organize Estonian resistance to Russian military aggression, he held various positions at the Interior Ministry and the Police Board, including director general of the board, when he started work for the Defence Ministry in 1995 as head of the information analysis office of the defence policy department. In 2001, he was appointed head of the newly formed state secret protection department. As head of the Defence Ministry Security Department, Simm was tasked with coordinating the protection of state secrets. The department is also responsible for issuing access to classified information and for handling data from international organizations, including
NATO
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...
, the
European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...
and Estonia's other defence partners. He also took part in the devising of
EU and NATO information protection systems.
On September 21, 2008, Simm was arrested with his wife Heete Simm on suspicion of illegal collecting and communicating classified information to an unidentified foreign government.
It is believed that damage caused by Herman Simm was not limited to the security of Estonia. In 2001–2006, Simm regularly traveled abroad to negotiate agreements on the protection of
classified information
Classified information is material that a government body deems to be sensitive information that must be protected. Access is restricted by law or regulation to particular groups of people with the necessary security clearance and need to know, ...
with member countries of NATO and the European Union. Herman Simm also participated in the development of intelligence security with NATO and the EU, where he invited other states to check their security systems. In June 2003, he was issued a
diplomatic passport
A passport is an official travel document issued by a government that contains a person's identity. A person with a passport can travel to and from foreign countries more easily and access consular assistance. A passport certifies the personal ...
, provided to carriers transporting classified information. In November 2006, Herman Simm resigned from the post of head of the state secret protection department, but continued to work as adviser of the Minister of Defence, retaining access to classified information.
Investigation and conviction
The criminal case was processed by Estonia's Public Prosecutor's Office and by the Security Police Board who co-operate with the Information Board and with the Ministry of Defence. (According to the Penal Code, treason is punishable by imprisonment of three to fifteen years.)
On 6 November 2008, the Estonian State Prosecutor's Office released some materials of the investigation, according to which Simm's handler may have been an officer of Russia's
Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) who had been using a
false identity
Identity theft occurs when someone uses another person's personal identifying information, like their name, identifying number, or credit card number, without their permission, to commit fraud or other crimes. The term ''identity theft'' was co ...
of an
EU citizen.
On February 25, 2009, Simm pleaded guilty to treason and was sentenced to twelve and a half years imprisonment and the payment of EEK 20,155,000 (€1.288M) in damages.
The Harju County Court did not specify which country Simm had handed the secrets to; but chief prosecutor Norman Aas said that Simm had "collected and forwarded classified Estonian and NATO information" to Russia's foreign intelligence service from 1995 until his arrest in 2008.
Aas also said, "He passed on personal information on some Estonian individuals, something that may damage Estonia's interests."
It has been unofficially claimed that Estonia had been tipped off by another country. Security Police chief Raivo Aeg said Simm would meet three or four times a year in at least 15 European countries with his SVR handlers, identified as
Valeri Zentsov and Sergey Jakovlev.
Aeg also said that an international arrest warrant had been issued for the latter, who is also known under a fake
Portuguese
Portuguese may refer to:
* anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal
** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods
** Portuguese language, a Romance language
*** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language
** Portu ...
identity as Antonio de Jesus Amorett Graf.
Bankruptcy
On March 23, 2009, Simm filed for
personal bankruptcy Personal bankruptcy law allows, in certain jurisdictions, an individual to be declared bankrupt. Virtually every country with a modern legal system features some form of debt relief for individuals. Personal bankruptcy is distinguished from corporat ...
. Simm has estimated the total value of his liquid assets at 5.4 million
EEK
Eek or EEK may refer to:
People
* Karl Morten Eek (born 1988), Norwegian footballer
* Maria Magdalena Eek (1733–1800), Finnish pastry chef
Places
* Eek, Alaska
* Eek Airport, Alaska
* Eek River, Alaska
Other uses
* Estonian kroon, a form ...
(approx €340,000), but the Ministry of Defence, (upheld by the courts), claimed the total to be 21.6 million EEK, and Simm owes 2.1 million EEK to an unnamed bank. The court assigned Ly Müürsoo as Simm's temporary
receiver and set the date of bankruptcy hearing to 17 April 2009. Meanwhile, Simm has been prohibited to realise any of his assets without a permission from the receiver.
Simm's bankruptcy proceedings are complicated by lack of a
prenuptial agreement
A prenuptial agreement, antenuptial agreement, or premarital agreement (commonly referred to as a prenup), is a written contract entered into by a couple prior to marriage or a civil union that enables them to select and control many of the leg ...
between Herman Simm and his wife Heete Simm.
On 23 April 2009, Harju County Court granted Simm's bankruptcy application, and declared Simm bankrupt.
Political ramifications
On April 29, 2009,
NATO
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...
ordered the expulsion of two Russian diplomats in what ''
The Financial Times
The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and published digitally that focuses on business and economic current affairs. Based in London, England, the paper is owned by a Japanese holding company, Nikk ...
'' said was retaliation for Simm's activities. One of the expelled Russians was the son of
Vladimir Chizhov
Vladimir may refer to:
Names
* Vladimir (name) for the Bulgarian, Croatian, Czech, Macedonian, Romanian, Russian, Serbian, Slovak and Slovenian spellings of a Slavic name
* Uladzimir for the Belarusian version of the name
* Volodymyr for the Ukra ...
, Russia's Ambassador to the European Union. He and the other diplomat who was expelled had been attached to Russia's mission to NATO, and are believed to have worked undercover as
intelligence agent
Espionage, spying, or intelligence gathering is the act of obtaining secret or confidential information (intelligence) from non-disclosed sources or divulging of the same without the permission of the holder of the information for a tangibl ...
s.
Release on probation
Tartu County Court decided to release Simm early on probation with a ruling on December 5, 2019. The court sentenced him to probation until March 18, 2021. The court assessed his risk of recidivism as low and found that Simm's access to classified information potentially interesting for foreign states is incredibly limited. He was released on December 23, 2019 from
Tartu Prison
Tartu prison (Estonian: ''Tartu vangla'') is a prison located in the Ropka industrial district suburb of Tartu in Estonia. The prison was designed by architect Kalle Glad, EstKONSULT and constructed by Skanska EMV. The prison was founded in 2000 ...
.
References
External links
* The Economist, Nov 6th 2008
Fog in the Baltic* Times Online, November 16, 2008
Russian spy in Nato could have passed on missile defence and cyber-war secrets* The Economist, Feb 26 2009
Spy scandal in Estonia* Spiegel Online
interview with Herman Simm (in German)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Simm, Herman
1947 births
Living people
People from Suure-Jaani
People convicted of spying for the Russian Federation
Estonian criminals
21st-century Estonian people
2008 in Estonia
People convicted of treason against Estonia
Estonian prisoners and detainees
Prisoners and detainees of Estonia
Estonian spies