German Authorities Arrest US Citizen Accused of Spying for China

The Federal Public Prosecutor's Office in Karlsruhe, Germany, on April 12, 2017. Uli Deck/dpa/AFP via Getty Images

A U.S. citizen has been arrested in Germany for allegedly spying for China, Germany’s federal prosecutor’s office said on Nov. 7.

The office said the man, identified only as Martin D., worked for the U.S. military in Germany until recently. He was arrested in Frankfurt and his home was being searched, the office said in a statement.

He contacted agents from the Chinese communist regime and offered to transmit sensitive information from the U.S. military to a Chinese intelligence service, the prosecutor’s office said.

“He had obtained the information in question in the course of his work in the U.S. Armed Forces,” the statement reads. “The accused will be brought before the investigating judge of the Federal Court of Justice later today.”

The German Press Agency reported that it appeared the suspect had not managed to transfer any data to the Chinese regime before his arrest.

Several U.S. military members have been arrested, charged, and sentenced for spying for China in recent years, including an active Army intelligence analyst who pleaded guilty in August and a Navy service member sentenced in January.

According to the think tank The Center for Strategic and International Studies, about 10 percent of Chinese espionage cases involve non-Chinese actors, “usually U.S. persons recruited by Chinese officials.”

Lawmakers and experts have long recognized that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) conducts intelligence operations on foreign soil on a scale far greater than most nations. A 2017 law passed by the CCP requires all Chinese citizens, including those born in America, to assist with state intelligence work in every aspect.

Last month, Germany arrested a Chinese national in Leipzig who worked for a logistics company that provided services to transport hubs including the Leipzig/Halle Airport, which handles both passengers and freight.

Identified as Yaqi X, the suspect was accused of providing flight and freight information to Chinese intelligence services, including information about the transportation of military equipment and people connected to a German defense company.

The case was tied to the high-profile arrest of the top aide of a German lawmaker earlier this year.

Yaqi X was suspected of passing information to Jian Guo, a German national who was arrested in April. Guo was accused of passing on information about talks in the European Parliament and spying on Chinese dissidents in Germany.

“If it is confirmed that there was spying for Chinese intelligence from inside the European Parliament, then that is an attack from inside on European democracy,” German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser said at the time.

Guo’s arrest occurred shortly after three German citizens were arrested on charges of spying for the CCP since 2022 and exporting sensitive technologies that would have benefited the Chinese military.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.