Two Chinese officers are accused of conspiring to obstruct the Huawei investigation
Read Time:2 Minute, 57 Second
Two men suspected of being Chinese intelligence officers have been charged with attempting to obstruct a US criminal investigation and prosecution of Chinese technology giant Huawei, according to court documents unsealed on Monday. The two men, Guochun He and Zheng Wang, are accused of trying to manipulate an individual with the US government who they believe cooperated into providing confidential information about a Justice Department investigation, including witnesses, court evidence and possible new charges. One of the defendants paid about $61,000 for the information, the Justice Department said. The man contacted by the people began working as a double agent for the US government, and his contacts with the accused were monitored by the FBI. At some point last year, prosecutors said, an unnamed person provided the defendants with a one-page document that appeared to be classified and contained information about an alleged plan to indict and arrest Huawei executives at USB, but the document was actually prepared by the government for prosecutors’ purposes, which was printed on Monday and the information in it was not accurate. The company is not named in the charging documents, although references make it clear that it is Huawei, which was indicted in 2019 for bank fraud and again the following year with new charges of racketeering and conspiracy to steal trade secrets. Top FBI and Justice Department officials have scheduled a news conference Monday afternoon to discuss the national security issue surrounding the foreign influence campaign. They did not say whether the case would be discussed. The Justice Department has issued arrest warrants for the couple, but it’s unclear if they will ever be taken into custody. Spokesmen for Huawei and the Chinese embassy in Washington did not immediately return messages seeking comment.
Two men suspected of being Chinese intelligence operatives have been charged with attempting to obstruct a US criminal investigation and prosecution of Chinese technology giant Huawei, according to court documents unsealed Monday.
Both men, Guochun He and Zheng Wang, are accused of trying to direct a US government official they believed to be an employee to provide confidential information about a Justice Department investigation, including witnesses, court evidence and possible new charges. One of the defendants paid about $61,000 for the information, the Ministry of Justice said.
The person people reached out to began working as a double agent for the US government, and his contacts with the accused were monitored by the FBI. At some point last year, prosecutors said, an unnamed person provided the defendants with a one-page document that appeared to be classified and contained information about an alleged plan to indict and arrest Huawei executives in the U.S.
But the document was actually prepared by the government for the prosecution’s purposes, which was disclosed on Monday, and the information in it was not accurate.
The company is not named in the incriminating documents, although the references clearly indicate that it is Huawei, which was charged with bank fraud in 2019 and again the following year with racketeering and conspiracy to steal trade secrets.
Top FBI and Justice Department officials have scheduled a news conference Monday afternoon to discuss the national security issue surrounding the foreign influence campaign. Whether it will be about this case, they did not say.
The Justice Department has issued arrest warrants for the pair, but it’s unclear if they will ever be taken into custody.
Spokesmen for Huawei and the Chinese embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to messages seeking comment.
Happy
0 %
Sad
0 %
Excited
0 %
Sleepy
0 %
Angry
0 %
Surprise
0 %
0
0
