Former FBI agent Jonathan Buma stated in an interview with the German channel ZDF that one of the targets of Russian intelligence operations was the American billionaire Elon Musk, who is close to Donald Trump, as noted by «Agency»*. He explained that Russian agents infiltrated Musk's circle and helped him establish contact with Vladimir Putin.
According to Buma, who worked for the FBI for 16 years specializing in Russian espionage, Kremlin agents offered Musk and PayPal founder Peter Thiel direct contact with Putin.
At the beginning of the Russian invasion, Musk made several harsh public statements towards Moscow and provided Ukraine with several hundred Starlink terminals. Later, the billionaire restricted the use of Starlink in Ukraine's offensive operations. In October 2022, he addressed his followers on the social network X with a request to vote for a path to peace, which included the continuation of Russian occupation of Crimea and Ukraine's renunciation of joining NATO.
Russian intelligence, according to Buma, planned to recruit Musk by exploiting his tendency for promiscuous relationships with women and drug use, particularly ketamine. The Wall Street Journal reported on Musk's drug use back in January 2024.
According to the former FBI employee, «there is plenty of evidence supporting» that Musk and Thiel were targets of a Russian intelligence operation, but he refused to disclose it, citing a ban on revealing such data. «I am not allowed to discuss the details of how we obtained this information», — stated Buma.
Buma claims to know about direct contacts between Musk and Putin. They likely spoke several times, the publication states.
In October, WSJ reported on regular contacts between Musk and Putin, as well as Kremlin officials, particularly with the deputy head of the Russian presidential administration, Sergey Kiriyenko. According to one of the publication's sources, after the start of the war in Ukraine, the Kremlin exerted pressure on Musk's business and used «implicit threats against him» in response to the billionaire's initial support for Kyiv.
As noted by ZDF, in March, Jonathan Buma was detained on charges of illegally obtaining and disclosing 130 FBI documents in 2023. The controversial documents were cited in the former agent's book, excerpts of which he published on his social media. The book included information about programs for creating weapons of mass destruction in a foreign state, investigators in Buma's case claimed.
* Recognized in Russia as a «foreign agent».
Photo: EFE