{
  "id": 3298784,
  "title": "Civil servant charged with breaking Official Secrets Act",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/25/civil-servant-charged-with-breaking-official-secrets-act",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-08-25T16:02:39.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "RTE News",
    "slug": "rte-news",
    "url": "https://www.rte.ie/news/courts/2026/0825/1589188-civil-servant-secrets-act/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "A 46-year-old Dublin civil servant, Yevgen McKeeffe, has been charged with breaching the Official Secrets Act and unlawfully disclosing confidential government information to a foreign power. The IT worker, who has lived in Ireland for 24 years, was initially arrested at Dublin Airport on May 28th while attempting to leave the country with €5,650 and a one-way ticket. He faces four charges, including unlawful disclosure of confidential information from a government department, breaching the Data Protection Act, retaining official data from the same department, and communicating that information to an individual prejudicially to the safety and preservation of the State. Prosecutors have directed the case to be handled as an indictment and a book of evidence must be served before McKeeffe is returned for trial. He remains in custody and is scheduled to appear in court again on Friday. The Garda Special Detective Unit (SDU) opened an intelligence-led investigation that led to his arrest as he was about to fly to Turkey. He was denied bail twice and two days after his initial arrest. The case involves McKeeffe's alleged use of the Telegram mobile phone app to send documents, pictures, or videos to a handler in a foreign jurisdiction, and he had previously traveled to Turkey on at least one occasion.",
  "summary": "A Dublin civil servant, accused of leaking sensitive Government information to a hostile foreign power, is facing extra charges, including breaching the Official Secrets Act.",
  "key_points": [
    "46-year-old Irish civil servant Yevgen McKeeffe charged",
    "Arrested at Dublin Airport with €5,650 and ticket",
    "Case involves Telegram app use to send documents abroad"
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}