US accuses China of spying on telecom probes

According to the US Department of Justice, Chinese secret agents allegedly tried to spy on investigations into the telecommunications giant Huawei. US Attorney General Merrick Garland announced yesterday that he would prosecute two Chinese men for obstruction of justice and money laundering.

According to the indictment, He Guochun and Wang Zheng allegedly attempted to bribe legal documents to obtain US investigations into a “global telecommunications company” from China.

Among other things, the two agents paid $61,000 worth of bitcoins to a U.S. government official they believed had recruited him as an informant, the U.S. Department of Justice said. However, the US representative was a “double agent” under the supervision of the US Federal Police FBI.

Huawei is not named

Huawei was not named in the charge sheet. However, several US media cited informed sources as saying that the “global telecommunications company” is the smartphone manufacturer and the world’s largest supplier of 5G network equipment. The data mentioned in the indictment documents are also perfectly applicable to the Huawei case.

In January 2019, the US Department of Justice formally brought charges against Huawei and its financial director Meng Wanzhou, who were arrested last month in Canada at the instigation of the US. The Justice Department accused Huawei, Meng and two affiliates of violating U.S. sanctions on Iran. Two Huawei subsidiaries were also accused of industrial espionage.