Chinese Spies Attempted Bribes, Espionage in U.S.: 'They Did Not Succeed'

The Department of Justice (DOJ) has charged 13 Chinese spies for allegedly attempting bribes and espionage on U.S. soil, Attorney General Merrick Garland announced Monday.

At a press conference, Garland announced the government was pursuing three separate cases in which Chinese spies allegedly violated international norms and tried to disrupt the U.S. justice system.

In one case, two intelligence officers allegedly tried to bribe a law enforcement officer $61,000 in exchange for confidential information about witnesses, evidence and possible charges in a criminal investigation into an unidentified Chinese telecommunications company, according to court filings.

A complaint unsealed Monday alleges the two agents' relationship with a person they believed to be a law enforcement employee began in February of 2017. The agents allegedly paid $41,000 in Bitcoin for a one-page document that purported to discuss a plan to arrest company members residing in the U.S.

"This is an egregious attempt by PRC intelligence officers to shield a PRC-based company from accountability and undermine the integrity of our judicial system," Garland said.

Four other individuals, including three who were intelligence officers, were charged with conspiring to act in the U.S. as a legal agent on behalf of a foreign government, Garland said. They are accused of "using the cover of a purported Chinese academic institute" to target individuals to procure and ship U.S. technology to China.

The DOJ has also charged seven others working for China for allegedly threatening and harassing a U.S. resident to return to China. The efforts were allegedly part of China's "Operation Foxhunt," which seeks to bring alleged fugitives who fled to foreign countries back to China, Garland said.

Garland did not name the victim. He said the defendants threatened and harassed the victim's family members in the U.S. and China as part of the "multi-year campaign of harassment." They allegedly forced the victim's nephew to travel from China to the U.S. to convey the government's threats to the victim's son, Garland said.

The victim was allegedly told turning herself in was "the only way out," and defendants showed up at her son's house, Garland said.

"The government in China sought to interfere with the rights and freedoms of individuals in the United States, and to undermine our judicial system that protects those rights," Garland said. "They did not succeed."

FBI Director Christopher Wray noted that while the cases seem unrelated, they show illustrate "the Chinese government's flagrant violation of international laws as they work to project their authoritarian view around the world, including within our own borders."

"In all three of these cases—and frankly in thousands of others—we've found the Chinese government threatening established democratic norms and the rule of law as they work to undermine U.S. economic security and fundamental human rights, including those of Americans," Wray said.

The announcements come as Chinese President Xi Jinping begins his third term as president following the 20th Chinese Communist Party's congress, which wrapped up over the weekend. The move was seen as a consolidation of power as China finds itself increasingly at odds with the U.S. amid the Russia-Ukraine war and heightened tensions with Taiwan.

Updated 10/24/2022, 3:28 p.m. ET: This story was updated with additional information.