Slovenian authorities said on Monday the EU country’s intelligence services had detained two suspected spies, with media reports saying the couple were allegedly working for Russia.
The Ljubljana Public Prosecution confirmed two suspects had been detained in December over spying for a foreign country, but did not give more details since the investigation was still under way.
“The court has ordered a criminal investigation that is still being carried out against the two suspects who were detained on December 5,” public prosecutor Katarina Bergant told AFP.
The detainees are a Russian couple, holding Argentine passports, and ran a business and an art gallery in Ljubljana allegedly as a cover-up using false identities, media reports said.
They are both 38 and have two children, the reports added.
“It is a very serious matter, and we are following it with all our attention,” Foreign Minister Tanja Fajon said.
Last April, Slovenia, a member of the European Union and NATO, expelled 33 Russians working in the country’s Ljubljana embassy following Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.
