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Germany arrests US citizen on suspicion of spying for China

November 7, 2024

Federal prosecutors say the US citizen is suspected of offering Chinese intelligence access to information he acquired when working for the US military. His residence was also being searched.

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A sign for the German federal prosecutor's office at the German Federal Court of Justice in Karsruhe. Symoblic undated image.
Germany's Federal Prosecutor's Office announced the arrest Image: Uli Deck/dpa/picture alliance

Germany's Federal Prosecutor's Office said on Thursday that it had arrested a US national, identified as Martin D., on suspicion of offering to spy for China. 

"The accused is strongly suspected of having declared himself willing to conduct espionage agent activities to a foreign intelligence service," prosecutors said in a statement. 

The man was arrested in the western city of Frankfurt. Prosecutors said his apartment was also searched. 

What are the allegations? 

"Until recently, Martin D. worked for the US military services in Germany," prosecutors said. "In 2024, he contacted Chinese state officials and offered to them to forward sensitive information belonging to the US military to an intelligence service in China."

Prosecutors said he had acquired the data during his time working with the military. They did not say whether his offer had been accepted or whether he had delivered any information.

The investigations were conducted in close coordination with Germany's domestic intelligence agency, prosecutors said. 

The suspect was expected to appear at an arraignment hearing after his arrest later on Thursday.

Several recent arrests on espionage allegations

German authorities last month arrested a Chinese woman, who had worked for a logistics services company at the Leipzig/Halle international airport. 

She was accused of providing information obtained via her workplace to another Chinese national, Jian G., who is a former employee of the Alternative for Germany (AfD) European Parliament member Maximilian Krah.  

Jian G. is accused of forwarding information to China from the European Parliament, with news of this development coming at the height of the European Parliament elections earlier this year, when Krah was the party's lead candidate.

Three German citizens were also arrested in Düsseldorf and Bad Homburg in April of this year, accused of forwarding on information on military technology.

Several of the other espionage-related investigations in Germany this year pertain to alleged attempts to transfer information to Russia.

msh/rmt (AFP, dpa, Reuters)