Nikolas B., 59, of Greek descent, was arrested on May 9 and is awaiting extradition to the United States. He is the owner of Arados Group, a group of companies with offices in the Netherlands and Greece that develops satellite technology, the US Department of Justice wrote in a statement.

‘They played doubles’
“The defendant and his Arados group openly acted as a defense contractor for NATO and other allies. At the same time, they played doubles and helped Russia’s war effort and develop its next-generation weapons,” said US Attorney Brion Pease. A statement.

Arados was immediately suspended as a member of the umbrella body of Dutch security company NITV, a message to members said. telegram could see. “A mole in the middle of the Dutch defense industry,” says one of the members.

Dual use items
The Greek was allegedly enlisted as a spy for Russia in 2017. So, he sent US military technology to the Russians, so-called dual-use items that could be used for both civilian and military purposes. His arrest stems from the newly formed Disruptive Technology Strike Force, a collaboration between the US Departments of Justice and Commerce to tackle the leaking of US military technology to authoritarian regimes.

Rijen-based Aratos Systems BV, one of the companies in Nikolaos B.’s Aratos Group, has become a finalist in NATO’s Innovation Challenge 2021 with a project on artificial intelligence (AI) and blockchain technology, according to the US Department of Justice.

‘Suspended for now’
Arados was part of an umbrella organization of Dutch security companies, read NITV, De Telegraaf. According to the newspaper, director Hans Huigen informed the members that he had informed the Dutch representative of the organization about his decision to suspend the organization as a participant of NIDV and from all activities (partially) organized by NIDV. He hopes and expects that members will agree with him that ‘considering the nature and seriousness of the suspicions, suspension is appropriate for the time being’.