A collaborative probe conducted by La Repubblica, Der Spiegel, Bellingcat, and The Insider has connected a Naples-based jewelry designer known as Maria Adela Kuhfeldt Rivera to Olga Kolobova, an individual suspected of working for Russia’s GRU military intelligence.
According to the investigation, Kolobova spent nearly a decade cultivating relationships within NATO circles, including personnel at the Allied Joint Command Naples and the U.S. Sixth Fleet. She reportedly presented herself as an entrepreneur and socialite, attending events and maintaining ties within military networks.
Kolobova was a member of the Lions Club Napoli Monte Nuovo, a social organization popular among officers stationed near the naval base. Investigators highlight that some of her interactions extended beyond formal networking: one NATO officer allegedly had a brief romantic involvement with her, and there are reports she occasionally covered membership fees for acquaintances to remain close to the circle.
Sources describe her approach as consistent with traditional intelligence techniques: establishing trust, observing routines, and collecting information on NATO operations in regions such as Iraq, Kosovo, and North Africa. While the investigation does not provide proof that she accessed classified material, her contacts, movements, and communications suggest an intelligence-gathering pattern.
Her true identity as Kolobova was verified through facial recognition technology and documentary analysis. The investigation notes that she left Naples suddenly during the period surrounding the Salisbury poisonings, claiming to be ill and returning to Moscow for treatment. Previously, she had told acquaintances she was born in Peru to a German father.
Some military figures had already expressed skepticism about her personal history. Colonel Sheila Bryant, then Inspector General of the U.S. Navy in Europe and Africa, reportedly questioned aspects of her biography. Friends described her as a highly visible and charismatic presence in Naples’ social scene.
The report underlines that Western intelligence agencies had not publicly confirmed her alleged connections to Russian military intelligence prior to this investigation. The findings are based on publicly available sources, interviews, and document analysis, with some conclusions remaining as well-substantiated suspicions rather than definitive proof.
