Chinese spy ring ‘used fake London company to pass intelligence to Beijing’

A Chinese spy ring has been busted in Germany after three people were arrested on suspicion of passing sensitive military technology to Beijing.

The trio used a front company to trick German universities into carrying out research into naval technology, prosecutors alleged on Monday.

The company they used as a front for their operations was based in the St Paul’s area in London, The Telegraph can reveal.

One of the suspects, named only as Thomas R, is accused of working as a spy for China’s MSS intelligence agency, which tasked him with acquiring military know-how from German scientists.

He is believed to have teamed up with the other two suspects, a married couple named only as Herwig F and Ina F, who had a company based in Dusseldorf.

The trio used the company to try to set up cooperation with German scientists and universities, prosecutors say.

On at least one occasion they were successful in these efforts. They managed to establish an agreement with an unnamed German university, which carried out a study into the latest technology used in high-grade engines that can be built into battleships.

London number doesn’t exist

Financing for the study came from a Chinese front company that was financed by the MSS.

Prosecutors also say that the trio used the company to export a laser to China without receiving the necessary licence under the EU’s dual-use export laws.

The Telegraph matched the suspects’ identities to a company that lists its headquarters in central London.

The company’s website advertises several vehicles it claims to have designed including a fully electric taxi and private jet.

The Telegraph tried to contact the company via a UK telephone number listed on the website but the number does not exist.

Thomas R also matches the identity of a man with a long career advising German firms and policymakers on the business environment in China.

At a conference in Shanghai in 2011, he was listed as a speaker who talked about the theme of “Germany’s system to fight corruption in enterprises”.

Volkswagen computers hacked

The arrests come a week after Olaf Scholz, the German chancellor, visited China on a three-day tour in which he tried to stabilise bilateral relations with Germany’s largest trading partner.

After two tricky years in the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Mr Scholz brought along a large business delegation and several government ministers as he stopped off in Shanghai and Beijing.

The chancellor appeared to reject EU efforts to impose tariffs on Chinese goods such as electric vehicles during the tour, and urged both sides to promote “fair competition”.

Days later, news broke in Germany that Chinese hackers had scooped up sensitive information from inside Volkswagen’s computer systems over many years.

The hackers, whose IP addresses were based in China, stole information from the auto giant on the development of its electric engines, Spiegel magazine revealed.