Russian hitman on tail of Anna Chapman’s betrayer

The Russian spymaster who allegedly sold out Anna Chapman and the other nine members of the US spy ring earlier this year faces assassination by a hit squad, according to a Kremlin source.

"This will be with him for the rest of his life and he will fear our retribution every day," the official told the Russian financial newspaper Kommersant. "We know who he is and where he is... Be in no doubt: Mercader has already been sent for him."

'Mercader' is a reference to Russian agent Ramon Mercader who murdered the Russian dissident Leon Trotsky with an ice axe in Mexico in 1940.

Kommersant claims that the man in question is Colonel Shcherbakov, a member of Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service, the SVR, who was in charge of deep cover foreign operations, who is thought to have fled Russia earlier this year.

The paper says it rumbled Shcherbakov when its researchers discovered that:

• He turned down a promotion last year – possibly because it would have involved passing a lie detector test

• He has daughter who was living in the United States – something that has previously been sufficient grounds to dismiss intelligence staff.

• His son left his job at the Federal Drug Control Service and fled Russia just before the spy ring was busted.

• He is also thought to have escaped Russia in June, days before the US arrested 10 members of a deep cover Russian spy ring.

At the time, the members of the spy ring, which included Anna Chapman, were derided in the US media failing to discover any secrets that weren’t already in the public domain. Even former KGB agents criticised their outdated methods.

But Russian prime minister Vladimir Putin has never been in any doubt as to the spies' value, praising their bravery during a bizarre 'spy singalong' in July and awarding them the country's highest honour in recognition of their exploits. Putin also claimed to know who had betrayed the agents. "It was the result of treason," he said, adding ominously: "Things always end badly for traitors. They usually end up in the gutter, from alcohol or drugs."

At the time it was assumed there was a double agent among the spies, but in the wake of Kommersant’s revelations, perhaps they were actually betrayed by their Russian handler.

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