Italian carabinieri on Tuesday arrested two former members of the domestic intelligence service AISI on charges of espionage for Russia and unauthorised access to computer systems. The main suspect, 59-year-old Gavino Raoul Piras, a former non-commissioned officer decorated by the United States for service in Afghanistan and Iraq, is alleged to have been the sole interlocutor of a Russian intelligence operative operating under diplomatic cover in Rome. According to the Rome prosecutor’s office, Piras received cash payments of €4,000 per item for classified information on Italian defence production and intelligence activities, which he obtained through a network of six sources, including four active-duty military personnel with high-level security clearances. The second arrestee, Vincenzo Di Pasquale, also a former AISI officer, is accused of participating in the scheme. Searches of the suspects’ properties yielded €20,000 in cash and digital storage devices concealed in street-wall crevices.

Viewed from Rome, the operation is the culmination of a counter-intelligence investigation launched in May 2025 after AISI detected the recruitment of the former agent. Defence Minister Guido Crosetto described the case as “the tip of a gigantic iceberg” of hybrid warfare, declaring that there can be “no tolerance” for those who compromise national security. The parliamentary committee for the security of the republic (Copasir), chaired by Lorenzo Guerini, stated that Russian malicious activity aimed at prejudicing Italian security is “known to the committee and followed with the utmost commitment.” Opposition voices, such as Riccardo Magi of +Europa, called the revelations “disturbing.” The Russian embassy in Rome has not commented on the arrests.

European security services have documented a persistent pattern of Russian intelligence operations targeting NATO member states. In Germany, Poland, the Netherlands and Sweden, authorities have recently prosecuted individuals accused of passing military and infrastructure data to Moscow, while Italy itself convicted navy captain Walter Biot in 2021 for handing documents to a Russian embassy employee. Analysts in Brussels note that the use of diplomatic cover and the recruitment of former insiders with residual access to sensitive networks are consistent with known tradecraft of Russian military intelligence (GRU) and foreign intelligence (SVR) services. The Italian investigation documented dead-drop exchanges of handwritten notes, mobile phones hidden in microwave ovens, and micro SD cards left in wall cracks, methods that mirror those uncovered in other European cases.

The investigation, coordinated by the ordinary and military prosecutors’ offices in Rome, has so far placed five additional individuals under investigation for procuring state secrets, political or military espionage, and revealing classified information. The Russian diplomat suspected of handling the operation remains in Italy under diplomatic immunity. Copasir is expected to request a full briefing from the government and prosecutors, while the defence ministry has pledged maximum cooperation with judicial authorities. The probe remains open, with investigators working to determine whether the network extended further into state structures.