Suspected Russian spy arrested in Norway spent years studying in Canada

Man posing as Brazilian academic Jose Assis Giammaria thought to have used his time in the country to build up a deep-cover identity

A suspected Russian spy who posed as a Brazilian academic before his arrest this week by Norway's domestic security agency spent years studying at Canadian universities with a focus on Arctic security issues.

The man, who called himself Jose Assis Giammaria, worked as researcher at the University of Tromso and was arrested on suspicion he had entered Norway under false pretences. On Friday, prosecutor Thomas Blom named the man as Mikhail Mikushin, adding that Norway's domestic security agency was not positively sure of his identity, but we are quite certain that he is not Brazilian".