A Spy Named Cicero

A British ambassador’s early morning bath led to one of the most notorious espionage of the Second World War. For it was while Sir Hughe Knatchbull-Hugessen - his Majesty's ambassador at Ankara, the capital of neutral Turkey, was soaking in his tub that his Turkish valet Elyesa Banza, made a wax impression of the key to the top-secret documents box, which stood on the desk in Sir Hughe’s study. It was October 1943 - a time when Turkey was debating whether to join in the fight against Hitler - and by the end of the month, Banza had copied 52 documents, which he sold to Nazi officials in Ankara. The Germans gave Banza the code name of Cicero, after the Roman orator and statesmen. Banza continued his work as a spy until April 1944, by which time Turkey had decided not to enter the war. He had amassed some £ 300,000 from his activities - and hid the money under the floorboards of his bedroom in the British embassy. He then handed in his notice to Sir Hughe and dropped out of site, taking his fortune with him. At the end of the Second World War, Banza resurfaced in Istanbul with the idea of building a luxury hotel for tourists. It was then he discovered that he too, had been betrayed. The money the Germans had given him turned out to be worthless forgeries. The man who had sold so many secrets had finally ‘sold’ himself.