Russian citizen Sergei Vagin reportedly tried to bribe a colonel in the Colombian Army

A new accusation by the Colombian authorities registers Russian citizen Sergei Vagin, who is now suspected of offering a juicy bribe to a member of the Military Forces for privileged information on, among other aspects, the army's purchase of weapons.

According to the Attorney General's Office, Vagin had been seeking to obtain secret information about the suppliers, routes, delivery points and distribution of military material for Colombia. For which, as indicated by the prosecutor, he would have offered a colonel of the Army 200 million pesos (about 50 thousand dollars) and the delivery of an apartment if he provided him with that information.

The Prosecutor's Office mentioned about the accusation: “Sergei Vagin, deputy or attached to the Russian embassy in Colombia, and of whom credentials granted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Foreign Ministry are certified, offered this Colombian citizen, this Army officer, the sum of 200 million pesos and the delivery of an apartment.”

According to the Colombian authorities, access to this information is exclusively presidential, precisely to prevent potential enemies from having access to such documents, which would pose a risk to national security.

For his part, the lawyer in charge of the defense of Sergei Vagin, Javier González, indicated, in an interview with the Blu Radio station, that the accusations they are making to his client are false and that they have an 'armed film', to make captures.

“Mr. Sergei has no relation to any of the parties mentioned, since he did not meet with any of the Russians, nor with the colonel, nor was he aware of the news about the purchase and sale of weapons and of secret situations of the Colombian Government that are mentioned,” said the defense of Russian Vagin.

For its part, it will be defined today, April 4, whether the Russian citizen will continue to face in freedom or behind bars, his process on the alleged participation and funding in the abuses that occurred in last year's protests.

Alleged interference by foreigners in Colombian protests

After the capture of Russian citizen Sergei Vagin, along with other subjects who allegedly belong to the so-called Frontline, various data emerges detailing possible Russian espionage activities on Colombian territory. In this case, the Office of the Attorney General of the Nation, after carrying out the search in the abode abroad, was able to obtain a series of elements, including electronic equipment and documents, which would determine the interference of another woman in the country.

News RCN released some of the material found by the Prosecutor's Office that would show that Vagin was present at the marches on November 21, 2020 and March 8, 2022; it is assumed that the Russian would have links with some structures of the ELN guerrilla.

The worrying fact regarding the alleged relationship between Sergei Vagin and the illegal armed group is that the bridge of contact between the foreigner and the guerrillas would be through the personnel who apparently handle trafficking in war material; that is, weapons and various elements that open the way to violent acts, as has been presumed because of its relation to demonstrations and various acts of belligerence in them.

Regarding the Russian citizen, the Public Prosecutor's Office carried out a search on her home in the north of Bogotá. In this case, as in the Vagin trial, both documents and computers were found in this house, according to RCN News, 5 USB sticks with documents in digital format and different evidence were found, in addition to 4 computers.

In the electronic devices found in this operation, different fragments of documents were found that are for the exclusive use of foreign agencies, where topics of espionage instruction predominate, as well as blogs for the protection of information, highlighting the secrecy that must be maintained and the prudence of the classified material.

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