In April 1912, Reilly returned to St. Petersburg where he assumed the role of a wealthy businessman and helped to form the Wings Aviation Club. He resumed his friendship with Alexander Grammatikov who was an Okhrana agent and a fellow member of the club. Writers Richard Deacon and Edward Van Der Rhoer assert that Reilly was an Ochrana double agent at this point. Deacon claims he was tasked with befriending and profiling Sir Basil Zaharoff, the international arms salesman and representative of Vickers-Armstrong Munitions Ltd. Another Reilly biographer, Richard B. Spence, claims that during this assignment Reilly learned ""le systeme"" from Zaharoff—the strategy of playing all sides against each other to maximise financial profit. However, biographer Andrew Cook asserts there is scant evidence of any relationship between Reilly and Zaharoff.