Italian special services, with the support of the CIA, detained a Russian citizen in Naples who had been living in Italy since 2014 under a false Argentine identity. The woman is accused of working for the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service as an illegal officer.
According to investigation data published by La Repubblica newspaper and ANSA news agency, the 38-year-old Russian woman entered the EU using the passport of María Rosa Mayer Muños, an Argentine citizen allegedly born in 1987 in Buenos Aires. Under this name, she opened a designer clothing and jewelry store in Naples, was actively involved in local business circles, and was even married to an Italian citizen.
The detainee’s real name is Olga Kolobova. According to Italian authorities, she is the daughter of a high-ranking Russian military officer and was trained at the SVR academy in Khimki, near Moscow. Between 2011 and 2013, Kolobova worked under a different cover in Malta and was then sent to Italy.
The exposure came after the independent investigative group Bellingcat and The Insider published material in 2022 about a network of Russian illegal immigrants in Europe, which included a photograph of “Maria Rosa Mayer Muñoz.” Italian intelligence agencies conducted covert surveillance for several years until they received authorization to make arrests in December 2025.
During a search of the detainee’s apartment and shop, encrypted communication devices, large sums of cash in various currencies, and documents confirming her regular contacts with employees of the Russian embassy in Rome under diplomatic cover were seized.
The Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs declared two Russian diplomats’ persona non grata in connection with this case. The Naples prosecutor’s office charged Kolobova with espionage and using forged documents. She faces up to 15 years in prison.