Former KGB double agent can sue NCA for 'leaking his British name and address to Latvia'

A FORMER KGB double agent has been allowed to continue take legal action against the National Crime Agency (NCA) amid claims to put his life in danger by revealing his adopted British identity and his address to Latvian officials who were trying to extradite him.

Boris Karpichkov, 64, who uses a British identity for security reasons, claims to have received death threats in Russian at the home after the details were handed over by the NCA in 2018 and 2019.

He has previously said he is on an assassination "hit list" of Russian President Vladimir Putin, for betraying his country.

The ex-KGB major was posted in Latvia, spying for Russia, in the 1990s, but also passed information to Latvia.

After being imprisoned in Russia, where he was once described as "a dead man walking" in its national press, he claimed asylum in the UK in 1998 before gaining British citizenship and the Home Office acknowledged new identity.

Latvia failed in its bid to extradite him in July 2020 when Judge Vanessa Baraitser ruled he would be at risk from organised crime and dark state forces in the country should he be sent there.

Read about the remarkable extradition case in our special report here.

Her ruling showed he was found to be in a "unique position to confirm past collaboration by high-ranking Latvian officials with the KGB".

He was also likely to be considered a threat to the Russian intelligence services by virtue of his work as a double agent for the Latvian LSP and against Russian state interests and by his on-going outspoken criticism of Russia.

The NCA argues it had to disclose Mr Karpichkov's new name and address, which happened pre-Brexit, due to laws governing exchange of information between EU states relating to criminal suspects.

In dismissing the NCA's application, Master McCloud said it was arguable that the NCA should have considered whether the disclosures were truly required by law after taking into account Human Rights and EU Charter provisions.

Mr Karpichkov earlier tried to sue the Ministry of Justice after his British identity and address were published on a list of court hearings while the extradition case was going through.

A court usher also said his adopted name in a court room as one of the hearings was about to get underway.

However, that claim was unsuccessful.

An NCA spokesman said: "The NCA is aware of the judgment. It would not be appropriate to comment further while legal proceedings are ongoing."