Three suspected Chinese spies arrested in Germany — caught stealing sensitive tech secrets

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Reports suggest the tech could include ‘special lasers’ for navy use.

Lasers
(Image credit: Shutterstock)

Three people suspected of stealing "innovative technologies for military use" for China have been arrested in Germany. Prosecutors say the individuals, referred to as Thomas R, Herwig F, and Ina F, acted for Chinese intelligence from around June 2022 onwards via a company in Dusseldorf. One of the individuals, Thomas R, was allegedly an agent for an employee of China's Ministry of State Security, according to an ABC News report.

These arrests come just a week after German Chancellor Olaf Sholz visited China. During his three-day visit, Sholz boldly pressed China on topics such as support for the wartime Russian economy, intellectual property theft, and fair market access.

Prosecutors seek to apply the force of various laws to set an example of these three suspects. Of course, espionage and IP theft are illegal, but there are other specific EU laws regarding the export of dual-use goods (which have both civilian and military applications) to countries like China and Russia. One of the legal lines that has been crossed seems to be the export of a military-applicable laser to China. Moreover, technology to enhance the performance of naval vessels may have been shared with the Chinese.

Interior Minister Nancy Faeser called the arrests a "great success for our counterintelligence.” Faeser stressed that the innovative German technologies stolen by the Chinese agents were useful for military purposes and “particularly sensitive.” At the time of their arrest, the three suspects were in negotiations with the Chinese to pass on yet more militarily sensitive research, according to reports.

The flags of China and Russia

(Image credit: Skopp (China), public domain (Russia))

Germany continues to be vigilant regarding espionage, which may be reassuring to big semiconductor players like Intel and TSMC, who have advanced plans to set up facilities in the country. For example, Faeser says that the government is keeping an eye on risks and threats, and it has warned and sensitized key people to be aware of protective measures. Today’s news also comes just two days after two alleged Russian spies were arrested in Germany. The Russian agents were suspected of planning to sabotage military aid to Ukraine.

Mark Tyson
Mark Tyson
News Editor

Mark Tyson is a news editor at Tom's Hardware. He enjoys covering the full breadth of PC tech; from business and semiconductor design to products approaching the edge of reason.

6 Comments Comment from the forums
  • Crazyy8
    Not really into politics, but I know that China of all countries should not being trying to spy on countries like the USA, UK, Germany, etc in the current political environment.
    Reply
  • pug_s
    Crazyy8 said:
    Not really into politics, but I know that China of all countries should not being trying to spy on countries like the USA, UK, Germany, etc in the current political environment.
    Most developing or developed countries has a intelligence agency and they are spying on each other, including US, UK and China. Even the CIA admits that the intelligence contacts in China are being rounded up and jailed.
    Reply
  • gdmaclew
    pug_s said:
    So the western countries shouldn't be spying on China? Give me a break. Most developing or developed countries has a intelligence agency, including US, UK and China. An example of the case in 2019 involving the Huawei CFO and the 2 Canadians who was jailed proved that the 2 Michaels from Canada are actually spies in China.
    And how does it prove that?
    China did it as a retaliation for the detention of Meng Wanzhou, nothing more.
    Reply
  • pug_s
    gdmaclew said:
    And how does it prove that?
    China did it as a retaliation for the detention of Meng Wanzhou, nothing more.
    https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/canada-ready-pay-settlements-two-men-imprisoned-china-2018-report-2023-12-26/
    Perhaps it is politically motiviated because Huawei is a nationally important company in China. But in this article, it says "The Canadian government has offered around C$3 million ($2.27 million) to each but Spavor's lawyer sought C$10.5 million, alleging gross negligence on how Ottawa handled security reporting operations in China, the report added."
    Security Reporting operations in China = Spying.
    Reply
  • bit_user
    pug_s said:
    https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/canada-ready-pay-settlements-two-men-imprisoned-china-2018-report-2023-12-26/
    Perhaps it is politically motiviated because Huawei is a nationally important company in China. But in this article, it says "The Canadian government has offered around C$3 million ($2.27 million) to each but Spavor's lawyer sought C$10.5 million, alleging gross negligence on how Ottawa handled security reporting operations in China, the report added."
    Security Reporting operations in China = Spying.
    That seems quite a reach, and a selective read of what the article contains. It also says:
    Canada and the United States say that the detention of the Canadian men - dubbed by Canadian media as "the two Michaels" in a case followed closely - was illegal and arbitrary, an accusation Beijing denies.
    Unless you can find compelling evidence that spying is being called "security reporting operations", I would suggest what it actually meant is that the Canadian government failed to warn its citizens that China is an unsafe place for them to visit and conduct business. I don't know about Canada, but the US Government maintains advisory warnings to its citizens on what countries & regions they should avoid. Perhaps the basis of the settlement is simply that the Canadian government failed to issue any sort of warning or advisory that would've allowed the detained individuals to adjust their plans and thereby avoid being detained.

    There's also the common sense aspect of what you're saying. If they were spies, don't you think the Canadian government would already have a mechanism in place to support the families of its detained operatives? The very fact that this lawsuit is public should tell us they weren't spies.

    Either way, you can't rest such an allegation on an ambiguous phrase cherry-picked from one article. Such a claim would require more definitive evidence.
    Reply
  • pug_s
    bit_user said:
    That seems quite a reach, and a selective read of what the article contains. It also says:
    Canada and the United States say that the detention of the Canadian men - dubbed by Canadian media as "the two Michaels" in a case followed closely - was illegal and arbitrary, an accusation Beijing denies.
    Unless you can find compelling evidence that spying is being called "security reporting operations", I would suggest what it actually meant is that the Canadian government failed to warn its citizens that China is an unsafe place for them to visit and conduct business. I don't know about Canada, but the US Government maintains advisory warnings to its citizens on what countries & regions they should avoid. Perhaps the basis of the settlement is simply that the Canadian government failed to issue any sort of warning or advisory that would've allowed the detained individuals to adjust their plans and thereby avoid being detained.

    There's also the common sense aspect of what you're saying. If they were spies, don't you think the Canadian government would already have a mechanism in place to support the families of its detained operatives? The very fact that this lawsuit is public should tell us they weren't spies.

    Either way, you can't rest such an allegation on an ambiguous phrase cherry-picked from one article. Such a claim would require more definitive evidence.
    Lol, you seriously drink the western propaganda kool aid if you believe US and Canadian says that their detainment is illegal and arbitrary.

    Canada's Global Security Reporting Program (GSRP) makes claims that these people are not spies is just hillarious because this organization gathers information for CSIS and Five eyes. How do they know that this kind of information that they are gathering is not supposed to be public? if these 2 Michaels are so innocent, why does Ottawa go out of their way to compensate these 2 individuals millions of Canadian dollars to settle their lawsuit?
    Reply