The US Department of Justice on Monday opened indictments against six Chinese nationals, including five alleged spies, accused of working on behalf of the Chinese government to recruit US citizens as sources who would pass on information with the aim of undermine the federal lawsuit against a large Chinese company.
According to indictment documents, the Chinese telecommunications company was facing federal prosecution in Brooklyn, New York. Although the indictment does not name the company, a person familiar with the investigation confirmed to the CNN that the company is Huawei.
The announcements highlight the department’s growing efforts to crack down on Chinese spies working on US soil to undermine US government interests, Attorney General Merrick Garland told a news conference on Monday.
“As these cases demonstrate, the Chinese government has sought to interfere with the rights and freedoms of individuals in the United States and undermine our judicial system that protects those rights,” Garland said. “They didn’t make it.”
Two of the alleged spies, Gouchun He and Zheng Wang, were accused of interfering in a federal lawsuit against global telecommunications company Huawei. The two, however, were not arrested.
US agent deceived Chinese and passed information to the FBI
They allegedly cultivated a relationship with a law enforcement officer involved in the case starting in 2017. He and Wang believed they had recruited the officer as a Chinese agent, according to indictment documents, but the US officer was working as a “double agent.” ” under FBI supervision, maintaining its allegiance to the United States.
When the investigation into Huawei began, the two allegedly asked the official for information about witnesses, trial evidence, and new charges that could be brought against Huawei. In return, the American official received thousands of dollars in cash and jewelry, prosecutors say.
He and Wang continued to pay the US official for information, according to court documents, sending thousands of dollars worth of Bitcoin as payment until the last week.
As the Huawei investigation progressed, He and Wang reportedly increased their efforts to interfere in the lawsuit against the company. According to the indictment documents, He and Wang asked officers to record prosecutors during trial strategy meetings so they could share non-public information with Huawei.
The US official gave the two alleged Chinese spies a photograph of a single-page document with a false “confidential” marking related to the case, according to the indictment. The US official reportedly received $41,000 for the document.
Recruitment of agents for China
In a separate scheme, prosecutors allege that four Chinese nationals were involved in a decade-long scheme to recruit individuals in the US to work as agents of the Chinese government and pass on information they deemed useful to China’s intelligence objectives.
According to the indictment, the defendants – some of whom were Chinese intelligence officers – worked under the cover of a false think tank (an event that brings together diverse ideas) to try to recruit Americans, including university professors, a former federal law enforcement officer and the state’s homeland security officer. Defendants tried to bribe their targets with lavish gifts, prosecutors allege, including an all-expenses-paid trip to China.
The four defendants hoped to obtain technology and equipment to ship back to China, according to the indictment. Defendants also hoped to stop protests in the US that the Chinese government found embarrassing.
Each of the four men is accused of conspiracy to act in the United States as agents of a foreign government. The department said in a press release that the men are residents of China – it is unclear if they were arrested.
Repatriation
Monday’s announcements follow news that the Justice Department last week opened an indictment over drafting a plan to intimidate a US resident into returning to China to face criminal charges.
According to the indictment, seven Chinese nationals threatened a New York resident and his family, including family members who were still living in China, with assaults, including incarceration.
The case relates to the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) Operation Fox Hunt, an international anti-corruption campaign that targets Chinese fugitives. The Chinese government launched Operation Fox Hunt in 2014 to target wealthy citizens accused of corruption who fled the country with large amounts of money.
Two of the defendants in that case were arrested. A common thread in many of these cases is that Chinese citizens facing US charges live abroad and will likely never be tried in federal courts.
Source: CNN Brasil
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