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UDI
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Cristiano Ronaldo has found himself at the centre of some unexpected movie-worthy drama
In a bizarre twist straight out of a spy thriller, it has been revealed that Russian agents used Cristiano Ronaldo’s YouTube videos to send encrypted messages to Moscow.
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The elaborate scheme, which was uncovered in 2011, involved Russian spies posting coded comments under football clips, allowing them to communicate without raising suspicion.
Secret codes hidden in Ronaldo videos
Andreas and Heidrun Anschlag seemed like an ordinary couple in Marburg, Germany, but in reality, they were deep-cover Russian spies.
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Living under fake Austrian identities, they had been active since 1989, passing thousands of classified NATO, EU, and U.N. documents to Russian intelligence. Instead of old-school radio transmissions, the couple adopted YouTube’s comment section as a covert communication tool.
Investigative journalist Gordon Corera described their method in his book Russians Among Us: “YouTube provided a new means of covert communication. The couple and KGB handlers created accounts months apart and posted comments under videos featuring Real Madrid star Cristiano Ronaldo.”
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The spies posted seemingly innocent remarks like, “Great video, and the song is amazing,” while their Russian handlers replied with cryptic responses such as, “He runs and plays like the devil.”
Intelligence experts believe these messages contained predetermined punctuation patterns that formed coded transmissions as their use of football-related content helped them avoid detection for years.
Spy ring uncovered in dramatic raid
Despite their sophisticated methods, German intelligence had been tracking the Anschlags for months before a dramatic October 2011 raid exposed their operations.
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During the bust, Heidrun was reportedly caught receiving a coded radio transmission, and in a panic, she fell off her chair and accidentally unplugged the device.
Investigators later discovered their ties to a Dutch Foreign Ministry mole, who had been supplying them with classified information through hidden USB drops.
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The couple had been receiving an annual salary of €90,000 ($98,053) from Russian intelligence and the Dutch mole’s information had provided them with crucial NATO and EU documents, which were then passed to Russian handlers through encrypted methods.
The couple was sentenced to six and a half years (Andreas) and five and a half years (Heidrun) in prison, while their Dutch informant received a 12-year sentence. However, in a quiet exchange in 2015, the Anschlags were released and deported to Russia.
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