NATO Officer's Clearance Suspended
PHOTO CAPTION: Senior NATO commanders attend a maritime conference at Allied Maritime Command in Northwood, United Kingdom, in March 2022. The Spanish naval officer involved in the recently revealed security incident is not identified or pictured. (NATO photo by Stéphane Dzioba)
A senior Spanish naval officer working at one of NATO’s most important maritime headquarters was suspended and returned to Spain after his relationship with a woman he met on Tinder triggered counterintelligence concerns.
The previously undisclosed security incident occurred in 2025 but became public this week through court records and new reporting.
The unnamed officer was assigned to NATO’s Allied Maritime Command at Northwood Headquarters in the United Kingdom. The command oversees NATO maritime operations and monitors activity that includes Russian submarines, warships and vessels connected to Moscow’s sanctions-evading “shadow fleet.”
According to reports, the officer began a relationship with Janina White in October 2024 after the two met through Tinder.
White is a British-Polish dual citizen who was born in the Soviet Union and later moved to Poland before immigrating to Britain. She has denied having any connection to Russian intelligence and has never been arrested or found to be a Russian agent.
The relationship reportedly progressed quickly. White said she moved into the officer’s apartment approximately two weeks after they met, and the couple opened a joint bank account.
White also attended a Christmas event at Northwood in December 2024 after receiving temporary permission to enter the installation.
During the first half of 2025, Spanish and NATO security officials began investigating the officer and his relationship with White.
Spain subsequently suspended the officer’s national security clearance, according to court records reviewed by The Telegraph. Officials at Northwood also revoked his access pass and prohibited him from entering the base while the investigation continued.
The officer was removed from Northwood and returned to Spain during the summer of 2025.
White and the officer reportedly attempted to enter Northwood again in August, but security personnel denied them access. Police were called, although neither was detained or arrested.
White maintains that the suspicions about her were unfounded and based largely on her birthplace and Russian background. She has initiated legal proceedings against Britain’s Ministry of Defence and NATO, alleging that she was subjected to discrimination.
“I definitely know I am not a Russian spy. The last time I checked, I wasn’t,” White told The Telegraph.
White also described a more recent encounter that added another layer to the security controversy.
During a trip to St. Petersburg, she said a man she identified as an officer with Russia’s Federal Security Service questioned her for approximately two hours about the NATO investigation and her former relationship with the Spanish commander.
That account comes from White herself and has not been independently confirmed. She said she did not disclose any sensitive information during the encounter.
White is no longer in a relationship with the officer.
NATO and Britain’s Ministry of Defence have declined to discuss the individual case, citing the continuing legal proceedings. NATO said it takes the security of its personnel and facilities seriously.
No public investigation has established that White worked for Russia or that classified information was compromised. The confirmed consequence was imposed on the officer: his security clearance was suspended, his access to Northwood was revoked and he was returned to Spain.
The episode illustrates why military personnel with access to sensitive information are repeatedly warned that personal relationships—including those formed through dating applications—can create counterintelligence vulnerabilities even when espionage is never proven.
(Source: OAF Nation)
