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British and Chinese flags flown in Tiananmen Square in Beijing
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CNN
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China said on Monday it had detained a foreign national who was the head of an overseas consulting firm on suspicion of conducting espionage activities on behalf of Britain.
China’s private spy agency, the Ministry of State Security (MSS), announced in a statement that it had arrested an individual surnamed Fan, who was cooperating with Britain’s MI6 while leading a foreign consultancy firm.
The agency did not mention Huang’s full name, gender or nationality, nor did it reveal the company where she works.
MSS said Mr Fan began working with MI6 on intelligence matters in 2015, and the British agency directed him to make several trips to China to gather intelligence and identify potential assets.
The MSS claimed that MI6 provided training to Mr Hwang, as well as specialized spy equipment for information exchange and communication.
The paper claimed that Mr. Huang ended up providing 17 pieces of information to Britain, including some “state secrets.”
During the MSS investigation, Huang was given access to a consular visit from his home country in accordance with the law, the newspaper said. The British Embassy in Beijing referred CNN to the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) for comment on this matter. The FCDO did not respond to requests for comment.
The news comes after China launched a months-long crackdown on international consulting firms.
In May last year, state security authorities announced they had raided several offices of CapVision, an advisory network headquartered in Shanghai and New York. The announcement came after Chinese authorities shut down the Beijing office of US Mintz Group. We asked employees at a local branch of top consulting firm Bain, a corporate due diligence firm.
The move was part of a broader effort by the Chinese government to tighten surveillance of what it considers sensitive national security information.
CapVision then announced in October that it had successfully completed a national security inspection overseen by the Chinese government and had devised new compliance measures to address concerns.
The MSS, which oversees China’s domestic and international intelligence and counterintelligence operations, is typically known for keeping a low profile. But in recent years, it has expanded its communications with the general public, including by launching an account on WeChat, China’s ubiquitous social networking platform.
The agency is using the platform to call on “all members of society” to join the fight against foreign spies, especially after the passage of the Anti-Espionage Act, which took effect last July. The law’s enactment has worried companies who fear the expanded scope could increase their legal risks.