US sentences two Chinese nationals to 30 months each in spying case

Two Chinese nationals have been sentenced in the United States after admitting to helping facilitate cash payments and trying to recruit US military personnel to spy for Beijing. Liren Lai, 40, and Yuance Chen, 39, each received 30 months in prison and three years of supervised release, according to the US Department of Justice. The case centres on allegations that the pair worked for China's foreign intelligence arm and carried out espionage-related activity over several years.

Prosecutors said the men admitted to facilitating dead-drop cash payments worth at least $30,000 to people in the US. One payment of $10,000 was arranged in May 2022, followed by another of $20,000, with cash left at specified locations for collection by someone else. The Justice Department said the pair also sought to arrange payments in exchange for information related to US national security.

Assistant Attorney General for National Security John A. Eisenberg described the scheme as long-running, extensive and brazen. Court documents said Lai and Chen began acting as agents of China's Ministry of State Security no later than May 2021.

Lai, who entered the US on a tourist visa, recruited Chen, a permanent resident, and initially acted as an intermediary between Chen and intelligence officers. Chen later received instructions directly from his handler, according to the filings. The department said the two also tried to recruit US military service members to spy for Beijing.

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The case adds to long-running US concerns about Chinese intelligence activity on American soil. It also highlights the use of dead-drop payments, a method that can reduce direct contact between handlers and recruits while making surveillance more difficult. The allegations involve attempts to obtain information from people with access to military and national security material, which prosecutors said made the conduct especially serious.

The Justice Department said the pair obtained photographs of a naval facility, military recruits and active-duty sailors. Chen also collected personal information about a US Navy employee and kept detailed biographical information on military personnel who were potential intelligence targets. The men were found guilty of conspiracy to act as agents of a foreign government without prior notification to the attorney general, and of acting as agents of a foreign government without prior notification.

The department did not say how many times the pair had facilitated payments or how many people they had successfully recruited in the US. It also did not provide further detail on the wider intelligence network they were accused of supporting. What remains unclear is the full extent of any information passed on, and whether other individuals in the US were involved.

#UnitedStates #China #espionage #MinistryofStateSecurity #DepartmentofJustice

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