German Authorities Charge US Citizen With Attempting to Spy for China

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Aug 26, 2025 - 09:55 Updated: Aug 26, 2025 - 09:45
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German Authorities Charge US Citizen With Attempting to Spy for China
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An American national who allegedly attempted to sell sensitive U.S. military information to China has been indicted on charges of espionage, Germany’s federal prosecutor’s office stated on Aug. 25.

The man, identified by federal prosecutors as Martin D., in line with German privacy rules, has been in pretrial detention since his arrest in Frankfurt in November 2024.
A former contractor for the U.S. Defense Department, the suspect repeatedly contacted the Chinese state agencies in the summer of 2024, offering to pass along “sensitive U.S. military information” to a Chinese intelligence service, the prosecutor’s office said in a statement.

“The accused is sufficiently suspected of having declared his willingness to engage in intelligence activities for a foreign intelligence service in a particularly serious case,” the office stated, according to a translation of the original German text.

The charges against him were filed on Aug. 13, it noted.

According to prosecutors, the American served as a civilian contractor for the U.S. Defense Department from 2017 to 2023 and had worked at a U.S. military base in Germany since at least 2020.

A 2024 report from the German Press Agency indicated that the suspect had not managed to transfer any information to the Chinese communist regime prior to his arrest.
The case emerged amid growing concerns over espionage activities directed by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) outside China’s borders, following a spate of arrests in the United States,  Germany, and other countries in Europe.
In January, German prosecutors charged three people for allegedly handing over intelligence and technologies that could have military applications to the CCP.

The accused, all German nationals, also allegedly purchased three “special lasers” from Germany, which were ultimately financed by the CCP’s top spy agency and shipped back to China without the necessary authorization, according to a statement from the prosecutor’s office.

German authorities did not disclose further details about the lasers but said the items are subject to the European Union’s dual-use export control regulations.

In April 2024, a longtime aide to a German lawmaker and a member of the European Parliament was arrested on suspicion of spying for the Chinese regime.

Identified as Jian G., a German citizen, the suspect was accused of repeatedly transferring information about discussions and decisions in the European Parliament to the CCP intelligence agency.

He obtained more than 500 documents, including some classified as highly sensitive by the European Parliament, according to the prosecutors’ office.

He was also accused of spying on Chinese dissidents in Germany.

Jian G. went on trial in a German court on Aug. 5, along with a woman authorities identified as Yaqi X., a Chinese national charged with allegedly assisting Jian G. between August 2023 and February 2024. Yaqi X. is accused of providing information to Jian G. about flights at Leipzig Airport related to the transportation of equipment and people with connections to a German arms company.

Jian G. has been in detention since his arrest in April 2024, and Jaqi X. has been in detention since September 2024.

A court spokesperson said that if convicted, Jian G. would face a prison term of one to 10 years because of the serious nature of the alleged espionage activity conducted for a foreign power. Less serious cases could see a fine or up to five years in prison.

Reuters contributed to this report.
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