China’s spy company detained the top of an abroad consulting agency for allegedly conducting espionage on the Asian nation for the UK, renewing give attention to an trade that was a goal of Beijing’s anti-spying scrutiny.
The Chinese language ministry of state safety mentioned Monday the MI6 intelligence service employed the marketing consultant from a “third nation” to hold out espionage actions. The alleged spy, surnamed Huang, offered the UK with state secrets and techniques and intelligence, based on the ministry’s official WeChat account.
The MSS’s assertion didn’t establish any corporations or Huang’s nationality. The British embassy in Beijing didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark.
The Chinese language company mentioned MI6 approached Huang in 2015 for intelligence cooperation, directing the marketing consultant to journey to China a number of instances, gather intelligence and establish potential belongings. The UK spying company skilled and geared up the particular person to hold out espionage, the MSS mentioned.
That is the primary time the MSS alleged British spying on its WeChat account because it was opened in August. The ministry has beforehand offered particulars on alleged spies for US authorities.
The investigation underscores Beijing’s continued scrutiny on the consulting sector, which over the previous yr has been topic to an anti-espionage crackdown and ceaselessly accused by the MSS of leaking categorised info.
Safety officers visited and searched expert-research firm Capvision’s workplace in Shanghai in Could, accusing the corporate of abetting espionage efforts by overseas entities. The Chinese language authorities in August fined US due diligence agency Mintz Group for unlawful knowledge assortment, months after officers raided its places of work in Beijing and detained 5 of its Chinese language workers.
In April, American consultancy Bain & Co mentioned Chinese language authorities had questioned employees at its Shanghai workplace.
China’s highly effective spy company is normally secretive about its work however has taken a extra public profile lately. Beijing has ratcheted up efforts to crack down on spying and adopted a brand new counter-espionage regulation that got here into impact final yr. That laws expands the listing of actions that may very well be thought-about spying, intensifying the dangers for overseas corporations.
The MSS mentioned it has organized for consular visits after imposing legal measures on Huang.
The Chinese language ministry of state safety mentioned Monday the MI6 intelligence service employed the marketing consultant from a “third nation” to hold out espionage actions. The alleged spy, surnamed Huang, offered the UK with state secrets and techniques and intelligence, based on the ministry’s official WeChat account.
The MSS’s assertion didn’t establish any corporations or Huang’s nationality. The British embassy in Beijing didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark.
The Chinese language company mentioned MI6 approached Huang in 2015 for intelligence cooperation, directing the marketing consultant to journey to China a number of instances, gather intelligence and establish potential belongings. The UK spying company skilled and geared up the particular person to hold out espionage, the MSS mentioned.
That is the primary time the MSS alleged British spying on its WeChat account because it was opened in August. The ministry has beforehand offered particulars on alleged spies for US authorities.
The investigation underscores Beijing’s continued scrutiny on the consulting sector, which over the previous yr has been topic to an anti-espionage crackdown and ceaselessly accused by the MSS of leaking categorised info.
Safety officers visited and searched expert-research firm Capvision’s workplace in Shanghai in Could, accusing the corporate of abetting espionage efforts by overseas entities. The Chinese language authorities in August fined US due diligence agency Mintz Group for unlawful knowledge assortment, months after officers raided its places of work in Beijing and detained 5 of its Chinese language workers.
In April, American consultancy Bain & Co mentioned Chinese language authorities had questioned employees at its Shanghai workplace.
China’s highly effective spy company is normally secretive about its work however has taken a extra public profile lately. Beijing has ratcheted up efforts to crack down on spying and adopted a brand new counter-espionage regulation that got here into impact final yr. That laws expands the listing of actions that may very well be thought-about spying, intensifying the dangers for overseas corporations.
The MSS mentioned it has organized for consular visits after imposing legal measures on Huang.