The US Announcing Claims Regarding Technology Theft For Profits Of China, Russia, And Iran

Matt Olsen, head of the Department of Justice's National Security Division, told a news conference. (photo; Twitter @TheJusticeDept)

JAKARTA - The United States Department of Justice on Tuesday, May 16 announced demands in five cases involving alleged tech theft attempts for the benefit of China, Russia and Iran. This includes a former Apple Inc engineer accused of eyeing company technology in autonomous systems, including autonomous cars, and then fleeing to China.

The cases, which were disclosed in the Justice Department press conference, relate to alleged theft of trade secrets and other technologies. Two of these cases involved a procurement network created to assist the military and Russian intelligence services in obtaining sensitive technology.

The five cases were the first to be announced by the US "attack force" formed in February, in part to protect sensitive technology, although investigations began before its formation.

"We remain vigilant in enforcing US law to stop the flow of sensitive technology to our foreign enemies," Matt Olsen, head of the Justice Department's National Security Division, told reporters. "We are committed to doing everything we can to prevent these sophisticated tools from falling into the hands of foreign enemies."

Former Apple engineer, identified as Weibao Wang (35 years), previously lived in Mountain View, California, and was hired by Apple in 2016, according to an indictment disclosed in April and announced on Tuesday.

In 2017, he received a US-based job with a Chinese company working to develop an autonomous car before resigning from Apple, but waited about four months before telling Apple about his new job, according to the indictment.

"After its last day at Apple, the company discovered that it had accessed a large amount of company-owned data within days of its departure," the Justice Department said.

Federal agents conducted a search of his home in June 2018 and found "a large amount" of data from Apple, he added.

Shortly after the search, he boarded a plane to China, the department said. Apple's automotive efforts, known as Project Titan, have been inconsistent since 2014, when the company started designing vehicles from scratch.

A December report stated that Apple had postponed the launch of the car until 2026. Reports submitted by the state of California show that Apple is testing the vehicle on the state's roads. Apple declined to comment on the case.

In the second case linked to China, prosecutors in the US announced charges against Liming Li (64 years) from Rancho Cucamonga, California, over alleged theft of trade secrets from California-based companies to build rival businesses in China.

Prosecutors in New York also sued Nikolaos "Nikos" Bogonikolos (49 years) from Greece on charges of smuggling US military technology into Russia as he worked as a defense contractor for NATO.

Russian nationals Oleg Sergeyevich Patsulya and Vasilii Sergeyevich Besedin, both of whom were sued in Arizona on suspicion of using Florida-based companies to send aircraft parts to Russian airlines, while the Commerce Department in parallel action suspended their export permits.

In addition, prosecutors in New York announced charges against Xiangjiang Qiao, also known as Joe Hansen (39 years), on suspicion of using Chinese companies targeted by American sanctions to provide materials used in the production of weapons of mass destruction to Iran.

According to US officials Qiao and Wang are still in China, while four other defendants have been arrested.

Lawyers Patsulya and Besedin, who were arrested on May 11, have yet to provide a response. Lawyer Li also has not yet responded. Reuters has not been able to find out who represents Bogonikolos.