The contacts of “Maria Tsalla” or Irina Alexandrovna-Smireva as her real name is, here in Greece as well as the trips she made during her stay in our country, are being sought by the Greek authorities, while in the coming days it is expected that the details of her financial behavior and banking transactions are under the microscope of the Authorities.

“Leaf and feather” her travels and contacts

The Greek authorities are looking step by step for the young woman’s journey in Greece, from the moment she was found on Greek soil until her last communication with her relatives in our country.

According with the report in the main SKAI news bulletin, oAuthorities have a clear picture of what trips “Maria Tsalla” made with a fake passport that corresponded to a person living in Latin America. However, from the moment she acquired Greek citizenship, the difficulties increase as her travels within the EU are not recorded.

He seemed to be a citizen of Aliveri

Upon her arrival in our country, the Russian spy initially tried to be registered in Aliveri’s census, which was not easy at first. For this reason, she contacted two lawyers in the area in order to assure them that I was either hosting her, or that they knew her because she lives in that area. Finally, according to the document published by SKAI on December 21, 2018, the Russian agent succeeds and becomes a citizen of Aliveri.

Her last communication with Greece

Her last presence in Greece appears on January 4, 2023 based on her mobile phone numbers. However, a few days later she is said to be in contact with both her landlord and the employee at the store where she kept and asked to send her cat to her, which was not possible in the end, as a special certificate was required.

The different business address

The Russian spy, however, seems to have tried to hide her tracks from the Greek tax authorities, since she declared not her residence, but 16 Tzaferi Street in Gazi as the seat of her sole proprietorship.

Who was her husband?

“Maria Tsalla”, however, in addition to the partner she had in Greece, was already married to another spy known as “Gerard Daniel Campos Wittich”, who lived in Brazil with fake papers and identity. “Wittich” had dual citizenship. One from Brazil and one from Austria. He seems to have been on holiday in Malaysia lately. However, his traces have been lost and it is assumed that he too was called for an immediate return to Russia, together with “Maria Tsalla” from Athens.

Former CIA Agent analyzes the case

He spoke to SKAI about the case of “Maria Tsalla” but also about the general activity of the spies, Greek-American Mark Polymeropoulos who served 26 years in the CIA before retiring in 2019.

“This is classic Russian methodology. It’s something we see from the Russian intelligence services throughout their history,” he says characteristically and explains that there are two types of espionage.

“There are two things in the world of espionage. You have the intelligence officers who are based in an embassy and operate under diplomatic cover posing as foreign ministry officials but in reality they are members of the secret services and you have the so-called “illegals”, who look like private citizens,” he points out.

Regarding the case of “Maria Tsalla” he said: “What they are trying to do is to send those who are called “illegals” to another country. To hide them in another country”.

“Suppose the Russians have recruited a Greek official. The Russian “illegal” will be its operator collecting the information. He then needs a mechanism to transport them to Russian espionage in Moscow. But you do this of course without any contact with the Russian embassy.”

He even explains that the main advantage of illegals is that they can travel throughout the EU. under the radar of the secret services

“With the European passport they can travel all over Europe almost invisibly and that’s why the network of illegals can be successful.”

As Mark Polymeropoulos says, the revelation of the action of “Maria Tsalla” sends a very strong message to the Russians. “For a long time Russia considered Europe a “playground” and what we are seeing after February 24 is a collective action of all European countries that has changed the situation. Over 400 Russian spies have been kicked out of Europe and as a result the ability to manipulate their agents has been limited and that is very good but of course they will rely more on the illegal network.”