Investigation into Russian espionage in Italy points to the Vatican as a target. Two people have been arrested – ZENIT

(ZENIT News / Rome, 07.12.2026).- The arrest of two former Italian intelligence officers accused of passing classified information to Russia has opened a new chapter in Europe’s expanding espionage landscape. Yet beyond allegations involving NATO, military planning and state secrets, one detail emerging from the investigation has attracted particular attention: according to prosecutors’ evidence, Russian military intelligence allegedly instructed one of its Italian assets to carry out activities «with the Vatican.»

The reference does not suggest wrongdoing by the Holy See itself. Rather, it underscores a reality long familiar to intelligence professionals but less obvious to the general public: the Vatican’s unique diplomatic influence makes it an object of sustained interest for foreign intelligence services.

Italian authorities arrested Gavino Raoul Piras and Vincenzo Di Pasquale in Rome on July 7 following an investigation conducted jointly by civilian and military prosecutors. Both men, aged 59, are retired members of Italy’s domestic intelligence agency, the AISI, and had left active service more than a decade ago.

The charges include espionage involving classified information, unlawful disclosure of state secrets and unauthorized access to protected computer systems. Five additional individuals remain under investigation, among them four serving military personnel who held positions with access to highly sensitive information. Some face allegations involving political or military espionage as well as disclosure of state secrets.

According to investigators, the inquiry began in May 2025 after Italy’s intelligence service itself detected indications that Russian operatives had successfully recruited a former Italian agent.

Prosecutors allege that the classified material was delivered to Mikhail Astakhov, identified as an officer of Russia’s GRU military intelligence service operating in Italy under diplomatic cover. Such arrangements are common in international espionage: intelligence officers assigned to embassies benefit from diplomatic immunity, meaning they are generally expelled rather than prosecuted if their activities are uncovered.

Investigators describe tradecraft reminiscent of Cold War spy operations. Meetings allegedly took place on public benches in towns north of Rome, including Bracciano and Santa Marinella. Written instructions were reportedly exchanged on small paper notes, microSD memory cards were hidden inside cavities in walls, and payments were made in cash-filled envelopes. Authorities allege that approximately €4,000 was paid for each dossier delivered. During searches of the suspects’ homes, investigators reportedly recovered around €20,000 in cash.

The scope of the information allegedly transferred is extensive. Prosecutors claim it included Italian, European Union and NATO rearmament plans, procurement programs involving Storm Shadow and SCALP long-range missiles, details concerning the SAMP/T air defense system supplied to Ukraine, assessments of military capabilities, defense industrial programs and evaluations of U.S. strikes against Iranian nuclear facilities.

Perhaps most alarming are allegations that the suspects revealed the identities of five Italian counterintelligence officers, potentially exposing them to significant personal danger. Investigators further allege that one of the former agents identified the intelligence officer investigating his own activities and suggested that she be placed under surveillance. Authorities say the classified files were systematically organized under the codename «Foundation.»

According to prosecutors, the relationship with Russian intelligence may have begun as early as 2013 and continued for roughly thirteen years.

It is within this broader investigation that the Vatican unexpectedly appears.

One intercepted conversation, reportedly recorded on October 9, 2025, during a meeting between Piras and Astakhov in Bracciano, allegedly captures the former Italian agent complaining about inadequate compensation. During the discussion, he reminds the Russian officer that he had previously received written instructions from Moscow directing him to continue working «with the Vatican» and says that carrying out those instructions even required him to make what he described as an «offering» during the pontificate of Pope Francis.

What remains unknown is considerably more significant than what is known.

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The publicly available court documents do not explain what the assignment concerning the Vatican actually involved. Investigators have not alleged that Vatican officials knowingly cooperated with Russian intelligence, nor have they identified any specific individuals within the Holy See as participants in espionage activities.

Several possibilities remain entirely speculative. The objective may have been to collect information about Vatican diplomacy, establish contacts within ecclesiastical circles, observe individuals, monitor sensitive offices or simply develop access to one of the world’s most influential diplomatic networks. At this stage, none of those hypotheses has been confirmed by judicial authorities.

Likewise, it remains unclear to whom the alleged «offering» was made or whether it represented a genuine attempt to establish relationships or merely an unverified claim by the suspect himself. There is also no public evidence indicating whether the Vatican Gendarmerie or the Holy See’s security services had any knowledge of the alleged Russian interest.

Nevertheless, intelligence experts are unlikely to find Moscow’s interest surprising.

Since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the Holy See has remained one of the few institutions capable of maintaining dialogue with both Moscow and Kyiv. Vatican diplomatic initiatives—including Cardinal Matteo Zuppi’s humanitarian mission, efforts concerning prisoner exchanges and attempts to address the deportation of Ukrainian children—have preserved channels of communication unavailable to many governments.

For any intelligence service involved in the conflict, advance knowledge of the Vatican’s diplomatic initiatives, papal meetings or evolving positions within the Secretariat of State could carry considerable strategic value.

History also provides important context. Throughout the Cold War, Soviet intelligence devoted substantial resources to monitoring the Vatican, particularly during the pontificate of St. John Paul II, whose influence in Eastern Europe was widely regarded as a major geopolitical challenge to communist regimes.

Recent years have also seen separate Italian investigations involving former intelligence personnel, private security firms and cyber specialists in which references to alleged activities connected with Vatican circles have surfaced. Those investigations involve different suspects, different alleged crimes and are legally unrelated to the current espionage case. However, together they suggest that the Holy See continues to attract attention from individuals seeking to monetize intelligence contacts, access and specialized expertise.

Unlike most sovereign states, the Holy See combines diplomatic engagement, humanitarian mediation and religious leadership while maintaining one of the world’s broadest international networks. That unique position naturally makes it attractive to governments seeking insight into sensitive negotiations and confidential diplomatic initiatives.

The judicial process now underway may eventually clarify what Russian intelligence hoped to achieve through the alleged Vatican assignment and whether any meaningful access was ever obtained. Until then, many crucial questions remain unanswered.

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