Lorrain's actions in favour of former Nazis, behaviour that he undertook at Gehlen's request, eventually attracted attention to himself. What is more, he was now obliged to accept that the Soviets were not the only ones who knew about his traitorous past: Gehlen must also have known about his pedigree. Lorrain was therefore the victim of a form of double blackmail.
In Paris, people were shocked to discover that a former resistance member, who had been repeatedly honoured and decorated, had maintained such good relations with former Nazis and collaborators. What were these acquaintances hiding? A discreet investigation was required and the DST, the agency that Lorrain had ambitions of leading, was charged with the undertaking.
They began by secretly monitoring him: phone taps, tails, the usual game. It was not long before there was confirmation that Lorrain regularly met with others with a questionable past. Secondly, and this was a surprise, the ‘prefect' was not adverse to getting his hands dirty and even indulged in some occasional arms trafficking!
What is more, the proof had now been provided that Lorrain was actually in contact with foreign agents, in particular British and American. Even if this has never been formally proved, Lorrain must have done so at the urging of his Soviet employers so as to create some form of protection: by being in close contact with individuals who were known to be part of western intelligence agencies, who would have suspected that in reality he was actually working for the KGB?
However, despite this early investigation, Lorrain was still not completely unmasked.
Most importantly, his Soviet ties had not yet been formally identified, although it had been discovered that he had met with diplomats who were known to be KGB agents.
But the evidence was still lacking. The investigation was closely monitored, especially in the top ranks, and it was still hard to believe that a prefect had been accused of such actions - and a former deportee to boot!
While waiting for permission to proceed further, the DST investigators were still interested in Lorrain's past history, guessing that there must be a flaw there somewhere. They made a very troubling discovery upon finding that his administrative records themselves were seriously flawed, particularly when it came to the war years and the time before his deportation. They had found what they were looking for: perhaps Lorrain was not the heroic resistance fighter that he claimed to have been.
Further investigations made more progress. At the Justice Ministry, the notes from the investigation made into him after the war were unearthed, and by gradually matching these with other pieces of information the truth finally emerged: Lorrain had been a Gestapo agent! The DST had permission to arrest him as soon as they had proof of his collaboration and it reminded some DST officers of a previous case.
Georges Paques,71 a top-level French official who worked at NATO, was also accused of spying for the Soviets and was arrested in August 1963. At the time, any diplomat who was thought could possibly be a KGB agent was put under surveillance. Two days after Paque's arrest, one of these Soviet agents went to Lorrain's home during the night, without taking the precaution of changing cars several times. He later emerged carrying a package. Nothing further happened at the time, as it was thought that Lorrain could not possibly be one of those who could be suspected of espionage.
However, in 1968, in light of what had been discovered about Lorrain's past, the tale took on another dimension. The decision to arrest Lorrain was taken, but the Interior Minister demanded that extra precautions be taken and that a doctor be present at the DST headquarters. After all, Lorrain had been deported and was a pensioner as well as a war veteran.
After being driven to rue des Saussaies, Lorrain initially acted outraged before resorting to threats. He pointed out his high-level contacts and suggested that he could equally expose dozens of people in Paris, which is already a confession in itself.Very soon after these outbursts, Lorrain sat down - right at the moment when it was revealed what was known about his past. He did not deny being a KGB agent and reiterated that as the Soviets were in possession of his Gestapo file, he had no option but to work for them.
He of course tried to minimise the importance of his collaboration. In sum, he said, he would have been happy to supply bits of biographical information on certain politicians, but nothing of any real importance. He was obviously lying. Yet the DST was never able to find out the truth due to the strange intervention of a clergyman: a man who was not only a form of moral authority in the world of the Resistance, but who had also been with Lorrain during his deportation.
With the endorsement of the highest state authorities, the cleric was able to meet with Lorrain while he was in custody. From this moment onwards, Lorrain had nothing further to say. But what was his real secret?
It is likely that Lorrain had access to records of men who, like him, had had their weaknesses during the war and with his Soviet friends, and with Gehlen's help, he had accumulated enough ammunition. This would account for the threats he issued upon his arrest: there would be dozens of people in Paris who would tremble if he fell! The priest who had intervened had convinced Lorrain
