THE Chinese spy convicted of trying to steal trade secrets from Evendale-based GE Aviation and other companies was sent to his home country in an international prisoner swap, according to the Cincinnati Enquirer.
Yanjun Xu, 42, was granted clemency by President Joe Biden on November 22 in an order that barred him from ever coming to the United States again. On that day, two other Chinese nationals were granted clemency as well.
On November 27, the White House announced a prisoner swap: three Chinese nationals in exchange for Mark Swidan, Kai Li and John Leung.
Swidan, 49, was detained in 2012 and later convicted on drug-related charges. Li, 70, was convicted of espionage charges, Leung, 79, was accused of spying. US officials said in each case the charges were baseless.
Reuters and other news outlets reported that the clemency actions were connected to the prisoner swap.
Xu was sentenced to 20 years in prison in 2022 in federal court in Cincinnati. Federal prosecutors said he was a spy for the Ministry of State Security, China's intelligence agency, and had managerial responsibilities that included coordinating 'sophisticated and significant intelligence operations.'
Beginning in late-2013, according to prosecutors, Xu worked with other intelligence officers to obtain trade secrets from aviation companies. He would assess and recruit assets, prosecutors said, 'namely ethnic Chinese insiders at Western aviation firms.'
Xu and another accused spy were arrested in Belgium in 2018, after trying to meet with an engineer for GE Aviation who Xu was trying to recruit. That year, Xu became the first Ministry of State Security official to be extradited to the U.S. to stand trial.
In 2021, Xu was convicted by a jury in federal court of conspiring to commit economic espionage and stealing trade secrets.
GE developed the world's first test of rotating parts made from ceramic matrix composites, or CMCs, in a jet engine. GE is investing heavily in CMC technology in Evendale and throughout its Aviation operations.
The espionage was part of a Chinese government policy to steal trade secrets from aviation companies, prosecutors said, and develop technology at American expense. China wanted to build its own jet engine modeled after GE Aviation's, according to prosecutors.
When FBI agents and Belgian authorities arrested Xu and the other accused spy, the two had multiple cellphones, photos of the GE Aviation engineer and his family and thousands of dollars in US currency wrapped in brown envelopes, prosecutors said.
Prosecutors said Xu identified experts who worked for the companies and recruited them to travel to China, often initially under the guise that they were traveling to give a presentation at a university. Xu and others with Chinese intelligence hacked or copied computers in hotel rooms while the experts were taken to dinner by ministry officials, court documents state.
SeaNews Turkey
Yanjun Xu, 42, was granted clemency by President Joe Biden on November 22 in an order that barred him from ever coming to the United States again. On that day, two other Chinese nationals were granted clemency as well.
On November 27, the White House announced a prisoner swap: three Chinese nationals in exchange for Mark Swidan, Kai Li and John Leung.
Swidan, 49, was detained in 2012 and later convicted on drug-related charges. Li, 70, was convicted of espionage charges, Leung, 79, was accused of spying. US officials said in each case the charges were baseless.
Reuters and other news outlets reported that the clemency actions were connected to the prisoner swap.
Xu was sentenced to 20 years in prison in 2022 in federal court in Cincinnati. Federal prosecutors said he was a spy for the Ministry of State Security, China's intelligence agency, and had managerial responsibilities that included coordinating 'sophisticated and significant intelligence operations.'
Beginning in late-2013, according to prosecutors, Xu worked with other intelligence officers to obtain trade secrets from aviation companies. He would assess and recruit assets, prosecutors said, 'namely ethnic Chinese insiders at Western aviation firms.'
Xu and another accused spy were arrested in Belgium in 2018, after trying to meet with an engineer for GE Aviation who Xu was trying to recruit. That year, Xu became the first Ministry of State Security official to be extradited to the U.S. to stand trial.
In 2021, Xu was convicted by a jury in federal court of conspiring to commit economic espionage and stealing trade secrets.
GE developed the world's first test of rotating parts made from ceramic matrix composites, or CMCs, in a jet engine. GE is investing heavily in CMC technology in Evendale and throughout its Aviation operations.
The espionage was part of a Chinese government policy to steal trade secrets from aviation companies, prosecutors said, and develop technology at American expense. China wanted to build its own jet engine modeled after GE Aviation's, according to prosecutors.
When FBI agents and Belgian authorities arrested Xu and the other accused spy, the two had multiple cellphones, photos of the GE Aviation engineer and his family and thousands of dollars in US currency wrapped in brown envelopes, prosecutors said.
Prosecutors said Xu identified experts who worked for the companies and recruited them to travel to China, often initially under the guise that they were traveling to give a presentation at a university. Xu and others with Chinese intelligence hacked or copied computers in hotel rooms while the experts were taken to dinner by ministry officials, court documents state.
SeaNews Turkey