British man arrested in the US is accused of spying for China
A British man is facing charges in the US after being accused of spying and smuggling arms for China.
John Miller, 63, from Tunbridge Wells, Kent, has been accused of carrying out interstate activities with Cui Guanghai, 43 from China. The US Justice Department confirmed it was trying to extradite the pair from Serbia.
Both 'solicited the procurement of US defence articles, including missiles, air defense radar, drones, and cryptographic devices with associated crypto ignition keys for unlawful export from the United States to the People's Republic of China', according to released documents.
Miller told a neighbour he often visited the Far East for work and also allegedly referred to Chinese President Xi Jinping as 'The Boss', The Mail on Sunday reported.
He and Mr Guanghai are accused of attempting to prevent a protest against Xi's attendance at the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) summit in November 2023.
The two men allegedly targeted the suspected protester's car by installing a tracker on the vehicle and even slashing its tyres.
On a separate occasion, the duo are said to have tried to thwart another protest against the Chinese president by paying £27,010 to two dissenters to renounce their intention to post an online video feed depicting two new artistic statues of Mr Xi and his wife Peng Liyuan.
The pair allegedly paid around £7,400 via wire transfer to a US account for a cryptographic device which they intended to export from the US to China.
They reportedly considered several methods to ship the device undetected, including concealing it in a food blender and sending it via Hong Kong.
Violation of the Arms Export Control Act – the most serious offence the pair are accused of – carries a maximum of 20 years in prison.
If found guilty, Miller could face maximum penalties of five years in prison for conspiracy, five years in prison for interstate stalking, and 10 years in prison for smuggling.
Deputy attorney general Todd Blanche said: 'As alleged, the defendants targeted a US resident for exercising his constitutional right to free speech and conspired to traffic sensitive American military technology to the Chinese regime.
'This is a blatant assault on both our national security and our democratic values. This Justice Department will not tolerate foreign repression on US soil, nor will we allow hostile nations to infiltrate or exploit our defence systems.
'We will act decisively to expose and dismantle these threats wherever they emerge.'
US attorney Bill Essayli, for the Central District of California, said: 'The indictment alleges that Chinese foreign actors targeted a victim in our nation because he criticised the Chinese government and its president. More Trending
'My office will continue to use all legal methods available to hold accountable foreign nationals engaging in criminal activity on our soil.'
Akil Davis, the assistant director in charge of the FBI's Los Angeles field office, said: 'The FBI will not tolerate transnational repression targeting those in the United States who express dissenting opinions about foreign leaders.
'Both defendants face serious stalking charges in Los Angeles and my office intends to hold them accountable for bullying a victim, a critic of the PRC (People's Republic of China), and targeting him with violence.'
Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.
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