FBI (US) arrests researcher for alleged ties to China
The US counterintelligence agency FBI has just arrested a NASA researcher who is said to have refused to disclose his relationship with the Chinese government.
According to the US Department of Justice, Professor Simon Saw-Teong Ang (63 years old) was arrested last week on charges of wire fraud.
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In a statement posted on its website, the US Justice Department said Ang allegedly had close ties to the Chinese government and Chinese companies, and failed to disclose those ties when required to do so in order to receive money from NASA.
“The false information sent to NASA and the University of Arkansas resulted in numerous telegrams being sent and received to further Ang’s fraudulent goals.
The US Department of Justice said the electrical engineer defrauded the university and NASA by “failing to disclose that he held other positions at a Chinese university and Chinese companies.”
The affidavit filed with the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Arkansas specifically stated that Mr. Ang has close ties to the Government.Chinaand numerous Chinese companies, he is not eligible to receive funds from US government agencies. If convicted, Ang could face up to 20 years in prison.
Court documents obtained by CNN show Ang's connection came after a University of Arkansas-Fayetteville employee attempted to find the owner of a hard drive that was lost and found in the school's library.
During the search, the employee came across an email exchange in September 2018 between Ang and a researcher from Xi'an University of Electronic Engineering (China), in which Ang said that the political climate made his situation at the university problematic.
On its website, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) explains that individuals involved in the Thousand Talents programs are those who work and study outside of China, in “high-priority research programs.”
In late 2019, the FBI explained that, based on its and its partners’ investigations, participants in these programs were often encouraged to transfer research they had conducted in the U.S. to China. In some cases, this led to violations of U.S. law, including economic espionage, theft of trade secrets, and fraudulent receipt of funds, the FBI said.
The charges against Ang say he failed to disclose his participation in a Thousand Talents Program at the University of Arkansas in 2014 and also failed to disclose other ties to Chinese government programs from 2012-2018.
