By Allan Lengel
Two Chinese intelligence agents face federal charges of trying to bribe an undercover FBI agent with hopes of obtaining classified information about a federal investigation, Insider reports.
He Guochun and Wang Zheng allegedly offered the agent $61,000 in Bitcoin for secret information in the prosecution of a big Chinese telecommunications firm, the publication reports. The two believed they had successfully recruited the employee to work for the Chinese government, the DOJ added. Both men are at large.
They both face charges of attempting to obstruct a federal prosecution. Guochun is also charged with two counts of money laundering regarding the $61,000 attempted bribe.
The publication speculated that the target of the U.S. probe is likely the Chinese electronics giant Huawei.
Federal prosecutors are investigating allegations that the Chinese firm stole trade secrets from U.S. tech companies, and whether Huawei misled banks about its business operations in US-sanctioned Iran, Insider reports.
