Foreign espionage in New Zealand
Encyclopedia
Foreign espionage in New Zealand, while likely not as extensive as in many larger countries, has nevertheless taken place. The Security Intelligence Service
, which has primary responsibility for counter-intelligence work, states that there are foreign intelligence agents working in New Zealand today.
Sir Geoffrey Palmer has stated that "it would be wrong to assume New Zealand was free from foreign threats [or] that New Zealand may be too small and unimportant to be of great interest to hostile foreign-intelligence organisations".
One potential reason for foreign interest in New Zealand might be its close intelligence links with larger Western nations — as part of the UKUSA alliance, New Zealand receives more information than it might otherwise be expected to hold. Foreign intelligence agencies might therefore see New Zealand as a "back door" into the intelligence worlds of the United States
or United Kingdom
. At times, New Zealand's allies appear to have been concerned about this point — the United Kingdom in particular voiced concerns about possible Soviet infiltration, such as in the case of Paddy Costello (see below).
Also of potential interest was New Zealand's nuclear-free legislation, which prompted a rift between New Zealand and the United States. Soviet defector Oleg Gordievsky
alleges that the Soviet Union was interested in New Zealand's policy, and attempted to promote it in Europe
, perhaps in the hope of weakening the United States' position in the nuclear arms race
. The Soviet Union was frequently accused of encouraging those elements in New Zealand which it saw as beneficial to its interests — the pro-Soviet Socialist Unity Party
was one alleged beneficiary, as were certain militant trade union
s.
On occasion, foreign spies may be active in New Zealand for reasons not connected with the country itself — the French
bombing of the Rainbow Warrior
was aimed at Greenpeace
rather than New Zealand, and China is sometimes alleged to target New Zealand-based Chinese democracy
activists and Falun Gong
members more often than it targets the New Zealand government. It is also alleged that New Zealand has been used as a "training ground" for other operations — it is a developed, English-speaking country, but was seen as less dangerous than more major targets.
, a number of people in New Zealand, both Soviet citizens and New Zealanders, were accused of working for Soviet
intelligence agencies. Many were diplomats connected to the Soviet embassy in Wellington. The SIS was active in monitoring the activities of Soviet diplomatic personnel, conducting surveillance of the embassy compound and trailing vehicles which left it. Occasionally, diplomats were expelled on charges of espionage or interference in New Zealand political affairs.
Among the expelled diplomats were Ambassador Vesevelod Sofinsky and embassy officials Sergei Budnik and Dmitri Razgovorov. Sofinsky and Budnik were both accused in the 1980s of giving covert assistance to the Socialist Unity Party, while Razgovorov was accused in 1975 of being an agent handler for local sources (notably Bill Sutch
, below). Later, in 1991, Anvar Kadyrov was expelled after illegally attempting to obtain a New Zealand passport. The "Mitrokhin Archive
" claims that many Soviet spies were active in New Zealand, possibly using it as a relatively "safe" training ground for activities in other English-speaking countries.
Probably the best known New Zealander accused of being a foreign spy is Bill Sutch
, a prominent diplomat and economic advisor. He was observed on several occasions meeting Dmitri Razgovorov, a Soviet diplomat, and in 1974, the SIS accused Sutch of passing information. He was acquitted in court the following year, and died shortly afterwards. The question of his guilt or innocence was, and still continues to be, a matter of considerable public debate. Another New Zealander accused of working for the Soviets was Paddy Costello, a senior diplomat — information from the Mitrokhin papers is the primary source of the allegations. He is sometimes cited as the reason Morris
and Lona Cohen
, both Soviet spies, were able to obtain New Zealand passports, although others claim the passports could easily have been obtained without assistance. These accusations have been challenged by author James McNeish in The Sixth Man: The Extraordinary Life of Paddy Costello.
From all accounts the mission was discovered by Albanian forces and all of the participents were killed in a fierce machine gun battle. The prime minister Hon Rob Muldoon was questioned by the media when the story leaked that New Zealand citizens were involved. The story was quickly given a media gag by the government, NZSIS and police.
In 1985, agents of the DGSE
, the primary foreign intelligence agency of France
, bombed the Greenpeace vessel Rainbow Warrior
in Auckland
harbour. Most of the crew evacuated, but one person was killed. Two of the agents were captured, pleaded guilty, and were sentenced to prison. This remains the most well known incident of foreign spies working in New Zealand, and the only terrorist attack committed in New Zealand by a foreign government.
In 2004, two Israeli citizens
pleaded guilty to an illegal attempt to acquire a New Zealand passport, in a case similar to that of the Soviet Anvar Kadyrov. They were fined, given a short prison sentence, and finally deported. The government has claimed that the men were Mossad
agents, although the Israeli government has not officially confirmed this. (A statement in 2005 appeared to contain a confirmation, but the Israeli government later said this was a misunderstanding).
Chen Yonglin
and Hao Fengjun, two officials of the People's Republic of China
who defected to Australia
, have claimed that China undertakes substantial espionage work in New Zealand. The New Zealand government declined to comment, and the Chinese government denied the claims.
New Zealand Security Intelligence Service
The New Zealand Security Intelligence Service is an intelligence agency of the New Zealand government.-Purpose:As a civilian organisation, the Security Intelligence Service takes no part in the enforcement of security...
, which has primary responsibility for counter-intelligence work, states that there are foreign intelligence agents working in New Zealand today.
Potential objectives
New Zealand's relatively small population, economy, and military mean that espionage against New Zealand is unlikely to be a priority for foreign intelligence agencies. Nevertheless, the New Zealand government asserts that a limited amount of espionage does take place. Former Prime MinisterPrime Minister of New Zealand
The Prime Minister of New Zealand is New Zealand's head of government consequent on being the leader of the party or coalition with majority support in the Parliament of New Zealand...
Sir Geoffrey Palmer has stated that "it would be wrong to assume New Zealand was free from foreign threats [or] that New Zealand may be too small and unimportant to be of great interest to hostile foreign-intelligence organisations".
One potential reason for foreign interest in New Zealand might be its close intelligence links with larger Western nations — as part of the UKUSA alliance, New Zealand receives more information than it might otherwise be expected to hold. Foreign intelligence agencies might therefore see New Zealand as a "back door" into the intelligence worlds of the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
or United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. At times, New Zealand's allies appear to have been concerned about this point — the United Kingdom in particular voiced concerns about possible Soviet infiltration, such as in the case of Paddy Costello (see below).
Also of potential interest was New Zealand's nuclear-free legislation, which prompted a rift between New Zealand and the United States. Soviet defector Oleg Gordievsky
Oleg Gordievsky
Oleg Antonovich Gordievsky , CMG , is a former Colonel of the KGB and KGB Resident-designate and bureau chief in London, who was a secret agent of the British Secret Intelligence Service from 1974 to 1985.-Early career:Oleg Gordievsky attended the Moscow State Institute of International...
alleges that the Soviet Union was interested in New Zealand's policy, and attempted to promote it in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, perhaps in the hope of weakening the United States' position in the nuclear arms race
Nuclear arms race
The nuclear arms race was a competition for supremacy in nuclear warfare between the United States, the Soviet Union, and their respective allies during the Cold War...
. The Soviet Union was frequently accused of encouraging those elements in New Zealand which it saw as beneficial to its interests — the pro-Soviet Socialist Unity Party
Socialist Unity Party (New Zealand)
The Socialist Unity Party was one of the better-known communist parties in New Zealand. It had a certain amount of influence in the trade union movement, but never won seats in Parliament....
was one alleged beneficiary, as were certain militant trade union
Trade union
A trade union, trades union or labor union is an organization of workers that have banded together to achieve common goals such as better working conditions. The trade union, through its leadership, bargains with the employer on behalf of union members and negotiates labour contracts with...
s.
On occasion, foreign spies may be active in New Zealand for reasons not connected with the country itself — the French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
bombing of the Rainbow Warrior
Sinking of the Rainbow Warrior
The sinking of the Rainbow Warrior, codenamed Opération Satanique, was an operation by the "action" branch of the French foreign intelligence services, the Direction Générale de la Sécurité Extérieure , carried out on July 10, 1985...
was aimed at Greenpeace
Greenpeace
Greenpeace is a non-governmental environmental organization with offices in over forty countries and with an international coordinating body in Amsterdam, The Netherlands...
rather than New Zealand, and China is sometimes alleged to target New Zealand-based Chinese democracy
Chinese democracy movement
The Chinese democracy movement refers to a series of loosely organized political movements in the People's Republic of China against the continued one-party rule by the Communist Party. One such movement began during the Beijing Spring in 1978 and was taken up again in the Tiananmen Square...
activists and Falun Gong
Falun Gong
Falun Gong is a spiritual discipline first introduced in China in 1992 by its founder, Li Hongzhi, through public lectures. It combines the practice of meditation and slow-moving qigong exercises with the moral philosophy...
members more often than it targets the New Zealand government. It is also alleged that New Zealand has been used as a "training ground" for other operations — it is a developed, English-speaking country, but was seen as less dangerous than more major targets.
Soviet Union
Throughout the Cold WarCold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
, a number of people in New Zealand, both Soviet citizens and New Zealanders, were accused of working for Soviet
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
intelligence agencies. Many were diplomats connected to the Soviet embassy in Wellington. The SIS was active in monitoring the activities of Soviet diplomatic personnel, conducting surveillance of the embassy compound and trailing vehicles which left it. Occasionally, diplomats were expelled on charges of espionage or interference in New Zealand political affairs.
Among the expelled diplomats were Ambassador Vesevelod Sofinsky and embassy officials Sergei Budnik and Dmitri Razgovorov. Sofinsky and Budnik were both accused in the 1980s of giving covert assistance to the Socialist Unity Party, while Razgovorov was accused in 1975 of being an agent handler for local sources (notably Bill Sutch
Bill Sutch
William Ball Sutch was a New Zealand economist, historian, writer, public servant, and public intellectual. In 1974, he was charged with trying to pass New Zealand Government information to the Soviet Union. He was acquitted....
, below). Later, in 1991, Anvar Kadyrov was expelled after illegally attempting to obtain a New Zealand passport. The "Mitrokhin Archive
Mitrokhin Archive
The Mitrokhin Archive is a collection of notes made secretly by KGB Major Vasili Mitrokhin during his thirty years as a KGB archivist in the foreign intelligence service and the First Chief Directorate...
" claims that many Soviet spies were active in New Zealand, possibly using it as a relatively "safe" training ground for activities in other English-speaking countries.
Probably the best known New Zealander accused of being a foreign spy is Bill Sutch
Bill Sutch
William Ball Sutch was a New Zealand economist, historian, writer, public servant, and public intellectual. In 1974, he was charged with trying to pass New Zealand Government information to the Soviet Union. He was acquitted....
, a prominent diplomat and economic advisor. He was observed on several occasions meeting Dmitri Razgovorov, a Soviet diplomat, and in 1974, the SIS accused Sutch of passing information. He was acquitted in court the following year, and died shortly afterwards. The question of his guilt or innocence was, and still continues to be, a matter of considerable public debate. Another New Zealander accused of working for the Soviets was Paddy Costello, a senior diplomat — information from the Mitrokhin papers is the primary source of the allegations. He is sometimes cited as the reason Morris
Morris Cohen (Soviet spy)
Morris Cohen also known in London as Peter Kroger was an American convicted of espionage for the Soviet Union. His wife Lona was also an agent.-Birth and education:...
and Lona Cohen
Lona Cohen
Leontine Theresa "Lona" Cohen , also known while she was in London as Helen Kroger, was an American spy for the Soviet Union. She was the wife of another spy, Morris Cohen.-Espionage:...
, both Soviet spies, were able to obtain New Zealand passports, although others claim the passports could easily have been obtained without assistance. These accusations have been challenged by author James McNeish in The Sixth Man: The Extraordinary Life of Paddy Costello.
Other countries
In 1982 a group of exiled Albanians living in New Zealand, Italy and the USA attempted to infiltrate the iron curtain country of Albania. Their purpose was to assassinate the leader Enver Hoxha, and start a civil revolution from inside Albania. It has been said that the CIA were financing the operation, as part of there undermining of the soviet communist regime.From all accounts the mission was discovered by Albanian forces and all of the participents were killed in a fierce machine gun battle. The prime minister Hon Rob Muldoon was questioned by the media when the story leaked that New Zealand citizens were involved. The story was quickly given a media gag by the government, NZSIS and police.
In 1985, agents of the DGSE
Direction générale de la sécurité extérieure
The General Directorate for External Security is France's external intelligence agency. Operating under the direction of the French ministry of defence, the agency works alongside the DCRI in providing intelligence and national security, notably by performing paramilitary and counterintelligence...
, the primary foreign intelligence agency of France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, bombed the Greenpeace vessel Rainbow Warrior
Sinking of the Rainbow Warrior
The sinking of the Rainbow Warrior, codenamed Opération Satanique, was an operation by the "action" branch of the French foreign intelligence services, the Direction Générale de la Sécurité Extérieure , carried out on July 10, 1985...
in Auckland
Auckland
The Auckland metropolitan area , in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest and most populous urban area in the country with residents, percent of the country's population. Auckland also has the largest Polynesian population of any city in the world...
harbour. Most of the crew evacuated, but one person was killed. Two of the agents were captured, pleaded guilty, and were sentenced to prison. This remains the most well known incident of foreign spies working in New Zealand, and the only terrorist attack committed in New Zealand by a foreign government.
In 2004, two Israeli citizens
2004 Israel-New Zealand spy scandal
On 15 July 2004, New Zealand imposed diplomatic sanctions against Israel and suspended high-level contacts between the two countries in July 2004 after two Israeli citizens, Uriel Zosha Kelman and Eli Cara, were convicted of passport fraud in Auckland...
pleaded guilty to an illegal attempt to acquire a New Zealand passport, in a case similar to that of the Soviet Anvar Kadyrov. They were fined, given a short prison sentence, and finally deported. The government has claimed that the men were Mossad
Mossad
The Mossad , short for HaMossad leModi'in uleTafkidim Meyuchadim , is the national intelligence agency of Israel....
agents, although the Israeli government has not officially confirmed this. (A statement in 2005 appeared to contain a confirmation, but the Israeli government later said this was a misunderstanding).
Chen Yonglin
Chen Yonglin
Chen Yonglin is a former Chinese diplomat who sparked fears of a diplomatic incident through his defection to Australia in the summer of 2005. The episode highlighted the tensions faced by China's trade partners when concerns arise from that nation's human rights record...
and Hao Fengjun, two officials of the People's Republic of China
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
who defected to Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, have claimed that China undertakes substantial espionage work in New Zealand. The New Zealand government declined to comment, and the Chinese government denied the claims.