PRC intelligence officers offered $61,000 in Bitcoin for information US Attorney's Office has on Huawei.
The US Department of Justice (DOJ), a federal executive department of the United States government tasked with the enforcement of federal law and administration of justice, has accused two Chinese intelligence officers of attempting to bribe a US government employee with Bitcoin(BTC).
According to the press releases shared on October 24th, Guochun He and Zheng Wang allegedly wanted to acquire documents related to “the ongoing federal criminal investigation and prosecution of a global telecommunications company” based in the People’s Republic of China (PRC).
Did you know?
Want to get smarter & wealthier with crypto?
Subscribe - We publish new crypto explainer videos every week!
What is Cardano in Crypto? (Easily Explained!)
On the same day, the Wall Street Journal covered the news, reporting that the company whose information two PRC officials were trying to collect is Huawei.
The two men were attempting to steal files and other information from the US Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York. According to DOJ, the operation began in 2019, when Guochun He and Zheng Wang approached a government employee who was also working at the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
The PRC intelligence officials were allegedly offering $61,000 in Bitcoin (BTC) for all information that US Attorney’s Office has on Huawei.
Moreover, in September 2022, a Chinese agent, Guochun He, allegedly contacted a US official and offered $20,000 in Bitcoin for additional information.
According to the blockchain intelligence firm Elliptic, Guochun He and Zheng Wang used Wasabi Wallet mixing service to hide the Bitcoin transactions made to the US official's wallet.
When commenting on the charges, the United States Assistant Attorney General for National Security, Matthew G. Olsen, noted:
Far more than an effort to collect information or intelligence, the actions of the PRC intelligence officers charged in this case must be called out for what they are: an extraordinary intervention by agents of a foreign government to interfere with the integrity of the U.S. criminal justice system, compromise a U.S. government employee, and obstruct the enforcement of U.S. law to benefit a PRC-based commercial enterprise.
Moreover, Olsen added: “the Department of Justice will not abide nation-state actors meddling in US criminal process and investigations, and will not tolerate foreign interference with the fair administration of justice.”
The DOJ charges PRC officials with “conspiracy to forcibly repatriate PRC nationals, attempted obstruction of a criminal prosecution, and conspiracy to act as an illegal agent of a foreign country.” If sentenced, Wang faces up to 20 years in prison, and Guochun He faces imprisonment of up to 40 years.
