The Ministry of State Safety mentioned that MI6 operatives satisfied a person and his spouse to defect
Beijing:
China on Monday accused Britain’s Secret Intelligence Service (MI6) of recruiting a pair who labored for the central authorities to spy for the UK, including to months of mutual espionage allegations between Beijing and Western powers.
The Ministry of State Safety mentioned in a submit on its official WeChat that MI6 operatives satisfied a person surnamed Wang, who labored in a “core confidential function” within the central state equipment, to defect alongside together with his spouse, surnamed Zhou.
“Not too long ago, after cautious investigation, the nationwide safety organs uncovered a serious espionage case by which the British Secret Intelligence Service (MI6) instigated a pair, Wang and Zhou, who had been workers members of a central state company of China, to defect,” it mentioned.
The ministry mentioned British spies started cultivating Wang after he started a course of research within the UK in 2015, arranging dinners and excursions for him with a view to “perceive his character weaknesses, pursuits and calls for”.
After studying that Wang “had a powerful need for cash”, they then approached him to supply well-paid consulting companies that got here to contain the inner workings of central state companies, the ministry mentioned.
MI6 personnel later revealed their identities to Wang and directed him to return to China to gather intelligence, convincing him to coerce Zhou into doing the identical.
The ministry mentioned it had gathered proof and brought “decisive measures” in opposition to Wang, including that the case was below additional investigation.
The assertion gave no particulars of Wang or Zhou’s present occupations in China, the character of the data they supplied, or their whereabouts.
AFP has contacted Britain’s Overseas, Commonwealth and Growth Workplace, which handles MI6 press enquiries, for remark.
China and Western powers have lengthy traded accusations of spying however solely just lately began to reveal particulars of alleged particular person circumstances.
Final month, British police mentioned Matthew Trickett, who had been charged with serving to the semi-autonomous Chinese language metropolis of Hong Kong to assemble intelligence within the UK, had been discovered useless in unexplained circumstances.
In April, German authorities arrested 4 folks on suspicion of spying for China, in the identical week that British police charged two males with passing delicate info to Beijing between 2021 and final 12 months.
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