Jian Guo: European Parliament Assistant to AfD MEP Maximillian Krah Arrested on Suspicion of Spying for China

Jian Guon, an aide to German MEP Maximillian Krah (pictured) in the European Parliament, has been arrested on suspicion of spying for China, Germany’s federal prosecutor’s office said Tuesday.

The arrest took place on Monday in the eastern city of Dresden.

It came just hours after the German authorities arrested three people in the west of the country on suspicion of leaking technological data used in maritime propulsion and exporting a high-powered laser to China.

It was not clear whether the two cases were linked.

Prosecutors said that the man, identified as Jian Guo, had worked for Krah since 2019.

Calling him an “employee of a Chinese secret service,” prosecutors accused him of repeatedly passing along information about parliamentary deliberations and decisions to Chinese intelligence in January.

Guo a German citizen, was also accused of spying on Chinese opposition groups in Germany, according to a statement from the prosecutor’s office.

The Chinese government denied any involvement in the case.

“We have taken note of the relevant reports and related hype,” a spokesman for the Foreign Ministry, Wang Wenbin, told a news conference in Beijing on Tuesday.

“In reality, everyone has seen very clearly in recent times that the so-called ‘Chinese espionage threat theory’ is not new in European public discourse,” he added.

Nancy Faeser, who as Germany’s interior minister is responsible for domestic security, called the allegations “extremely serious.”

“If it is confirmed that the European Parliament was spying for Chinese intelligence services, then this is an attack on European democracy from within,” she said in a statement on Tuesday morning.

Maximilian Krah, a lawmaker with the far-right Alternative for Germany, or AfD, party confirmed that the man arrested was one of his employees.

“Should the allegations prove to be true, this would result in the immediate termination of employment,” Mr. Krah wrote on X.

A spokesman for the Belgian prosecutor’s office, which would be responsible for any investigations at the aide’s workplace inside the European Parliament in Brussels, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

A spokesman for the European Parliament also did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Mr. Krah, who has served in the European Parliament since 2019, has positioned himself on the right wing of the AfD.

He is considered to be the party’s top candidate in the European Parliament election in June.

The arrest of his aide was not the first time Mr. Krah’s name has come in contact with accused spies for foreign countries.

In March of this year, The New York Times published a report detailing accusations against one Janusz Niedzwiecki, a Polish citizen, for allegedly undertaking activities on behalf of Russian intelligence collaborators.

The report highlighted that Niedzwiecki had gained access to the European Parliament through Maximillian Krah.

Janusz Niedzwiecki, was accused of “performing tasks commissioned and financed by Russian intelligence collaborators.”

Those included, according to the Internal Security Agency, “propaganda, disinformation activities and political provocations,” with the goal of “building Russian spheres of influence in Europe.”

Earlier this week EU Today reported that Krah had been questioned by the FBI during a visit to New York for a young Republicans gala in December 2023.

U.S. reportedly authorities detained Krah based on suspicions that he had received funds from Russia through Oleh Voloshyn, a former Ukrainian lawmaker known for his pro-Kremlin stance.

Main Image: Alexis HAULOT Copyright: © European Union 2023 – Source : EP

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Maximilian Krah MEP

Read Also: Alternative for Germany (AfD) to Question Deputies Over Alleged Russian Ties

Germany’s interior minister Nancy Faeser stated that the investigation into the influence network dealt a “significant blow” to Russian disinformation.

The fact that leading AfD politicians have appeared repeatedly on the Voice of Europe website indicates that “Putin’s friends have repeatedly allowed themselves to become part of the Russian propaganda apparatus,” according to Faeser.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________