A professor wanted by the National Court recruits Spaniards as soldiers and spies for Russia

The Madrid professor and political scientist Enrique Arias Gil, wanted by the National Court, operates from Russia to recruit other Spanish citizens as hackers, informants or soldiers for Moscow. This is stated in a report released this week by Golden Owl, a technological start-up linked to the Science Park of the University of Alicante, which warns of a series of "hybrid threats" against "the electoral integrity and national security of Spain" less than a month before the general elections are held.

At the center of all this disinformation gear linked to the Kremlin is the Spaniard Enrique Arias Gil, 38, whom Europol included among the most wanted fugitives for computer crimes under the alias "Russian Disinformer."

Specifically, among its activities is "recruiting other Spaniards as cyber volunteers paid in cryptocurrencies, as informants against their own officials and as contracted soldiers for the Russian Army," details the technology company.

"Around it, a ring of Spanish-language channels with half a million subscriptions brings the Kremlin's story about Spain's crises to both the Spanish extreme right and the extreme left," the report explains.

According to information from Golden Owl, specialized in strategic intelligence, data analysis and detection of cyber threats, the Madrid political scientist manages a Telegram channel "under the protection of the Russian State" with more than 14,500 subscribers, where he invites people to join the Russian Army for a salary that ranges from $2,500 to $3,000 per month and a bonus of $25,000 for signing the contract, which includes a plane ticket and visa managed by Moscow.

That same channel also recently published messages encouraging collaboration with the Putin regime by providing "confidential information and personal data of Spanish officials and businessmen."

He also tried to recruit "crypto-paid cyber volunteers" to join the "top Russian hackers" and participate in the "Ddosia project cyber-attacking and cyber-sabotaging the Collective West in exchange for juicy rewards."

The Golden Owl report further states that the network of channels linked to Arias Gil "is active now, in Spanish and around Spanish events, with a network of half a million subscribers and Spanish political channels with six-digit figures that broadcast their narrative frameworks."

Among other hoaxes, there are messages about the recent Urda railway tragedy or that defend Russian interests: "The real foreign hand in Spain is Israel, the United States, Morocco and NATO; Russia is the scapegoat," indicates one of them. "The Israeli military company Cylus will have the last word on the causes of the Urda accident... What if there had been a Mossad hack?" reads another comment.