When Vladimir Putin and Barack Obama sat down for an informal talk in a public lobby at the G20 conference in Antalya, they could have guessed there would be prying ears. But they probably didn’t expect that the security breach would be quite so… unsubtle.
A video captured by a camera at the summit on Sunday shows a man inching towards the two world leaders in what he seems to believe are imperceptibly small steps, while demonstratively looking the other way, and almost visibly staining his ears to pick up snippets of talk.
However, the world leaders’ security details do not appear to be fooled by the gradual progress of the “mole.” Eventually, another man comes over to the conference visitor, grabs his arm, and whispers unheard remarks into his ear.
While the identity of the infiltrator, who online observers have compared to the fictional bumbling spy Johnny English, could be deduced from his badge and lapel pin, no one has compromised his alias so far.