Biden Team to Counter Tech Espionage Unveils Cases Involving China and Russia
The Biden administration on Tuesday announced five arrests and criminal charges related to sanctions evasion and tech espionage related to Russia, China and Iran.
Last week, two Russians were detained on suspicion of sending aircraft parts to Russia in violation of sanctions imposed after the country invaded Ukraine. In another case, a former Apple engineer is accused of stealing the company’s self-driving car technology and providing it to a Chinese competitor.
notice These were the activities of the recently established “Technology Strike Force,” whose purpose is to protect critical US technology and data from being stolen by adversaries.Offensive power Installed in February And bring together the Department of Commerce, the Department of Justice, the FBI, local law firms and agents.
Federal authorities are working to track the global movement of US goods and data and the funds used to pay for them. The effort aims to crack down on global networks that distribute goods and technology through opaque jurisdictions and intermediaries in an attempt to circumvent U.S.-imposed sanctions and technology restrictions.
In another case disclosed on Tuesday, a California-based engineer allegedly stole the source code of advanced machinery that could be used to build parts for military submarines and aircraft and attempted to sell it to Chinese companies. has been accused of
Two other cases were announced, including charges against China-based operatives accused of trying to send materials to Iran to be used in weapons of mass destruction, according to US officials; Included are charges related to allegedly providing Russia with available advanced technology. by the Russian army.
Matthew G. Olsen, Assistant Attorney General for the Department of Justice’s National Security Agency, told reporters that the case is an important step for the U.S. government’s ability to “accelerate investigations and sharply increase our collective resources to counter these threats.” said to show
“Foreign nations are working hard to obtain our most sensitive technology,” said Matthew Axelrod, undersecretary for export enforcement at the Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security. “We are working harder to stop them.”
Russians Oleg Patlya and Vasily Besedin, who were arrested last week on suspicion of trying to procure millions of dollars of prohibited parts for a Russian airline, were charged with violating the Export Control Reform Act and conspiring to launder international money. indicted. If convicted, each offense carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.
The Commerce Department on Tuesday issued a temporary refusal order barring the man from doing business involving U.S. goods for 180 days.
The order also applies to the Maldivian carrier that the men used to transport prohibited products to Russia, and to the Russian airline Smatavia, which sought to purchase these products.
On Thursday, federal officials seized luxury goods purchased with proceeds from the scheme, according to U.S. officials.
