Germany arrests three suspected of spying for China

Three Germans have been arrested on suspicion of spying for the Chinese secret service, federal prosecutors said.

Two men and a woman were arrested in the western German cities of Dusseldorf and Bad Homburg on Monday, the Federal Public Prosecutor General said.

They are alleged to have been working for the Chinese secret service since June 2022 at the latest and to have violated the Foreign Trade and Payments Act in this context.

The case concerns the transfer of information on military technology to the Chinese secret service. At the time of their arrest, the suspects were in negotiations about research projects that could be useful for the expansion of China’s maritime combat power in particular, according to the prosecutors.

The homes and workplaces of the suspects were searched.