Former CIA officers were arrested on charges of spying for China, according to the US Department of Justice website.
According to the agency, 67-year-old former Central Intelligence Agency officer Yuk Chin Ma was arrested on August 14. The man is accused of conspiring with a relative, also a former CIA officer, to transfer classified data to China.
Ma was born in Hong Kong but is a US citizen. In the CIA, he worked from 1982 to 1989, had access to information of the highest degree of secrecy. After leaving the service, he lived in Shanghai and then moved to Hawaii.
According to the investigation, Ma and his relative began cooperating with Beijing in 2001. Then the men allegedly gave Chinese intelligence information about the employees, operations and methods of concealing CIA messages. As evidence of Ma’s guilt, a video is presented in which he receives a $ 50 thousand reward for information. It is noted that the man also tried to get a job in the FBI for the purpose of espionage.
In July, the US intelligence services announced that the PRC Consulate General in Houston was closely connected with Chinese intelligence. According to media reports, Beijing used the diplomatic mission to “steal valuable medical research”, as well as to infiltrate the oil and gas industry in the United States.
On July 21, American leader Donald Trump announced his decision to close the diplomatic mission. According to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, this is due to the fact that China is allegedly committing theft of American intellectual property.
Beijing flatly denied the accusations.