Aide to far-right German MEP arrested on suspicion of spying for China
German police on Monday arrested an aide to a far-right MEP on suspicion of spying for China.
The man, named as Jian G., is publicly listed as an accredited assistant to Maximilian Krah, MEP and leading candidate for the far-right party Alternative for Deutschland (AfD).
The Federal Prosecutor’s Office said he is accused of being “an employee of the Chinese secret service” as well as “repeatedly passing on information about negotiations and decisions in the European Parliament to his intelligence client”.
Jian G. is also been accused of spying on Chinese opposition figures in Germany.
According to Die Zeit, the man is a 43-year-old Chinese national with German citizenship who met Krah whilst working as a businessman in Germany. He was originally brought into Krah’s team in Brussels as an assistant when Krah entered the European Parliament in 2019.
A spokesperson for the AfD told German news channel Die Welt that the reports of the arrest were “very disturbing.”
Euronews contacted Krah’s press office for comment, but received no immediate response.
The arrest is the fourth in recent weeks involving German nationals accused of spying for China.
A man and couple were arrested in Hesse and North-Rhine Westphalia on Monday having been accused of obtaining information on military technology on behalf of China.
And last week, two men were arrested for plotting to sabotage support for Ukraine in Germany, possibly on behalf of the Russian government.
Jian G. will be brought before judges in Karlsruhe on Tuesday, where authorities will decide whether to issue an arrest warrant and detain him.
