Berlin – German authorities have arrested an American citizen on suspicion of attempting to pass on sensitive information about American military operations in Germany to Chinese intelligence services. The suspect has been identified only as Martin D. under German privacy law. He is a 37-year-old former civilian contractor employed by the US military and was arrested in Frankfurt on Thursday morning by the German Federal Criminal Police (BKA), the federal prosecutor’s office said .
The case is being investigated by the federal prosecutor’s office, which ordered the arrest based on a warrant issued by a federal judge on October 30.
“Due to urgent suspicion, the suspect is accused of offering himself as an agent for a foreign intelligence service,” the public prosecutor’s office said in a statement on Thursday.
Martin D. is accused of contacting the Chinese government earlier this year and offering to share confidential information he obtained while working for the US military in Germany. His former job involved working as a civilian contractor for a private company that provided services to U.S. troops in the central state of Hesse, where Frankfurt is located.
Andreas Arnold/Photo Alliance/Getty
Investigators believe Martin D. made contact with Chinese intelligence agents, proposing to hand over classified information about the US military presence and operations in Germany. The prosecutor’s statement said he is “strongly suspected of having declared his willingness to conduct intelligence activities for a foreign intelligence service.”
In response to a potential threat to national security, the German counterintelligence agency launched an investigation, with the BKA leading the operation. As part of the operation, Martin D.’s home was searched, but authorities have not said what materials were seized.
The investigation was launched based on initial information collected by Germany’s domestic intelligence agency, the Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV), which has increased vigilance against foreign intelligence activities in the country.
The arrest comes amid growing concern in Western capitals espionage and sabotage activities by foreign powers, especially China and Russia. A few days ago, a source familiar with the matter reported that US and European law enforcement agencies were jointly investigating whether the firebombs that detonated in July at DHL’s logistics hubs in Germany and Britain were part of a larger operation led of Russian military intelligence.
Martin D. was expected to appear before the judge of the German Federal Court of Justice on Thursday. The judge had to formally issue the arrest warrant and decide whether the suspect could be kept in pre-trial detention.
This year, several people have been arrested in Germany on charges of spying for China. In April, federal prosecutors in Dusseldorf and Bad Homburg arrested three Germans accused of passing on information about military technology. Another high-profile case involved the arrest of a former aide to far-right AfD party politician Maximilian Krah, who is accused of sharing EU Parliament data and monitoring Chinese dissidents in Germany.
At the beginning of October, a Chinese woman who worked for a logistics company at Leipzig/Halle Airport was also arrested on suspicion of espionage. She is accused of providing Krah’s former employee with information about flights, cargo and passengers, in particular military equipment and individuals linked to a German defense company.
If convicted, Martin D. could face serious charges under German law for espionage and unauthorized intelligence activities, which carry long prison sentences.
