The investigation points to a pattern that investigators observe among so-called Russian “disposable agents.” According to the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution, these agents often work “on behalf of a foreign intelligence service without actually belonging to it” in exchange for small sums of money. Unlike full-time employees, they are expendable, and the risk of their cover being blown is accepted. “Once the operation is complete or someone is arrested, they are literally discarded,” says terrorism and security expert Hans-Jakob Schindler, director of the international think tank Counter Extremism Project.