They collected data on the technology used on German warships.
The German authorities have detained three people suspected of spying for the Chinese secret service, the German Federal Prosecutor’s Office announced on Monday in Karlsruhe.
The Federal Criminal Office detained two men and a woman in Düsseldorf and Bad Homburg, and their workplace and home were searched by the authorities. The suspects may have worked for Chinese intelligence since at least June 2022.
According to the authorities, information related to military technologies may have been transferred to China. At the time of their detention, they were negotiating research projects that could be useful for Beijing to expand China’s naval combat capabilities, the prosecutor’s office said in a statement.
One of the captured men is said to have passed on information related to military innovations to a colleague of the Chinese secret service who was in China. For this, the man used the Düsseldorf company of the married couple, who were also detained, through which they established contacts and continued cooperation with German scientists and researchers. A report was prepared for a Chinese entrepreneur on the technology of components also used for the engines of warships. According to the indications, the Chinese secret service may have been behind the Chinese entrepreneur in question.
Nancy Faeser In his statement on Monday, the German Minister of the Interior emphasized that the Berlin government is closely following the threat and risk posed by Chinese espionage in the business and scientific fields.
A spokesman for the German government said that the case of the three detained German citizens would be thoroughly investigated and the necessary response would be taken.
