Former Israeli minister and Knesset member Gonen Segev has been arrested and charged for spying for Iran, the Israeli government has revealed.

Segev, a disgraced former politician who had been previously convicted for drug smuggling and fraud and had been living in Nigeria in recent years, was arrested by Israeli authorities last month after being denied entry by Equatorial Guinea due to his criminal record.

According to the Israeli Shin Bet security service, the investigation into Segev revealed that he was an active agent for Iranian intelligence. Israeli authorities said that Segev had made contact in 2012 with elements from the Iranian Embassy in Nigeria, where he then subsequently visited Iran twice to meet with his handlers.

Segev also met with his Iranian handlers at various hotels and apartments around the world that he assumed were used for covert activity, authorities allege.

Subscribe to The JNS Daily Syndicate

by email and never miss

our top stories

The former Israeli politician, who served in the Knesset from 1992-1996, including as a minister of energy and infrastructure, allegedly transferred his Iranian handlers information on the Jewish state’s energy economy and security sites, as well as diplomatic and security personnel and buildings.

“In order to perform the missions that he had been assigned by his handlers, Segev maintained contacts with Israeli citizens in the foreign affairs and security fields. Segev worked to put some of these Israeli citizens in contact with Iranian intelligence agents by misleading the former and presenting the latter as innocent Iranian businessmen,” the Shin Bet said.

Segev is reportedly currently being held at a Shin Bet facility.