Photo: Former CIA Officer Arrested, Charged With Spying for China – US Justice Department

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Photo: Former CIA Officer Arrested, Charged With Spying for China - US Justice Department

An ex-US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) officer has been arrested and is now facing life imprisonment after he and a relative allegedly conspired with multiple People’s Republic of China (PRC) officials to relay classified national defense information to them for more than a decade.

Former CIA Officer Alexander Yuk Ching Ma was arrested by federal authorities on August 14 and charged with “conspiracy to communicate national defense information to aid a foreign government,” according to a Monday release from the US Department of Justice. 

Authorities say the two relatives met with Chinese officials over the course of three days in 2001 and provided them with information on CIA “personnel, operations, and methods of concealing communications.” The release alleges that part of one engagement was recorded, showing Ma accepting and counting $50,000 in cash. 

Ma, who was born in Hong Kong and became a naturalized US citizen, began his career with the civilian foreign intelligence service in 1982 and maintained a Top Secret clearance until he left the service in 1989. 

He was also hired in 2004 as a linguist on contract for the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) Honolulu Field Office. Citing court documents filed on August 13 in the US District Court for the District of Hawaii, the release claimed Ma routinely photographed, copied and also lifted documents that were explicitly labeled with various classification markings. 

Photo: Former CIA Officer Arrested, Charged With Spying for China - US Justice Department

Screenshot taken from the covert video and audio recording made by the UCE during the meeting with MA in January 2019.

Authorities claim Ma revealed his crimes to an undercover FBI employee posing as a PRC intelligence service representative. Court documents note the two individuals met twice in the spring of 2019, and Ma pocketed $2,000 as a “small token” of appreciation for his aiding of China.    

“This betrayal is never worth it. Whether immediately, or many years after they thought they got away with it, we will find these traitors and we will bring them to justice. To the Chinese intelligence services, these individuals are expendable. To us, they are sad but urgent reminders of the need to stay vigilant.”

Ma, who is scheduled to make his first appearance before a federal judge on Tuesday, faces a maximum penalty of life imprisonment if found guilty.

Sourse: sputniknews.com

Photo: Former CIA Officer Arrested, Charged With Spying for China – US Justice Department

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