A criminal complaint was unsealed today in federal court in Brooklyn charging two People’s Republic of China (PRC) intelligence officers with attempting to obstruct a criminal prosecution of a Chinese telecommunications company, believed to be Huawei, according to media sources. One of the defendant also is charged with money laundering based upon a bribe payment of $41,000 in Bitcoin made in furtherance of the scheme.
According to the complaint, the two PRC intelligence officers directed an employee at a U.S. government law enforcement agency to steal confidential information about the criminal prosecution of the telecommunications company.
The defendants remain at large.
“Today’s complaint underscores the unrelenting efforts of the PRC government to undermine the rule of law,” said U.S. Attorney Breon Peace for the Eastern District of New York. “As alleged, the case involves an effort by PRC intelligence officers to obstruct an ongoing criminal prosecution by making bribes to obtain files from this Office and sharing them with a global telecommunications company that is a charged defendant in an ongoing prosecution. We will always act decisively to counteract criminal acts that target our system of justice.”