Two Chinese nationals are accused of paying thousands of dollars in cash and jewelry to obstruct a federal investigation into a major telecommunications company.
The two men tried to recruit a US law enforcement official as an intelligence asset.
The official was working for the FBI.
A number of Chinese citizens were charged with espionage.
According to charging documents, the two men - identified as Gouchun He and Zheng Wang - attempted to cultivate a relationship with a US law enforcement official and sought details of the investigation. They asked the official to record the meetings.
The company was not named in the documents or at the news conference by the Attorney General, but US media has reported it to be a Chinese company. The company wasn't identified by US officials.
The attempt by PRC intelligence officers to shield a PRC based company from accountability and to undermine the integrity of our judicial system was egregious.
The two alleged spies paid the official tens of thousands of dollars in cash and jewellery, as well as $41,000 in Bitcoins, for a photograph of a single page that purported to discuss a plan to charge company officials. As of last week, additional payments were made.
The US official was working for the FBI and passed along fake documents to the alleged spies.
Four people, including three alleged intelligence operatives, were charged with using a fake think tank to recruit US officials. According to Mr Garland, the suspects wanted to purchase technology and have it shipped to China, as well as interfering with US protests that could be embarrassing.
Seven Chinese nationals were charged with attempting to force a naturalised US citizen to return to China as part of a larger effort to recover fugitives and silence dissidents in China. There are two people in custody.
The Chinese government forced the victim's nephew to travel from China to convey threats, told him that coming back and turning herself in is the only way out, and sent agents to the home of the victim's son.
The harassment would not stop until the victim returned to China.
Last year, prosecutors charged alleged Chinese spies with trying to exert influence over US citizens.
The US believes that an affiliate of China's Ministry of State Security hired a US-based private investigator to uncover "unflattering information" about a US congressional candidate who participated in pro-democracy demonstrations in Hong Kong.
All Rights Reserved © 2024
