Former Federal Reserve official accused of passing secrets to China

MT HANNACH
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A former senior official of the federal reserve was arrested Friday after the American prosecutors accused him of having transmitted economic secrets in China.

John Rogers, Senior Advisor to the 2010-21 Washington International Fed Finance Division.

Rogers, 63, of Virginie, was accused of having transferred information sensitive to her personal messaging account before printing it and transmitting it to Chinese officials disguised as graduates. He also used encrypted messaging applications to communicate with Chinese officials, the indictment said.

Friday, the Ministry of Justice said that Rogers had “under the guise of” classes “teachers”, met his co-conspirators in Chinese hotel rooms where he gave them information sensitive to commercial secrecy belonging to the Nourished.

He added that the economist had been paid about $ 450,000 as part -time teacher at Fudan University in China.

Rogers’ lawyer could not be joined immediately to comment.

The indictment is the last of an increasing number of cases in which US government officials – and in particular agencies such as the CIA and the military – have been responsible for providing sensitive or secret information to the Chinese government .

In recent years, the Ministry of Justice has also become more public on the highlighting of cases to highlight the threat of Chinese espionage. Washington accused Chinese pirates of attacking American telecommunications networks in a massive and widespread campaign that allowed the authors to access the conversations of American officials.

The Chinese Embassy in Washington said that it did not “know” the details of the case of Rogers, but said that China “confirms the rule of law”.

“We oppose any smear and attack on China with” risks of espionage “,” added the embassy.

The Chinese government is one of the world’s largest holders in the US government’s obligations. The decisions and signals of FED’s interest rates on future monetary policy movements can also influence US treasury bills and are among the most monitored reports in the global financial markets.

The US Treasury figures show that in November, China officially held $ 768.6 billion in debt, making it the second foreign holder after Japan.

The accusation act alleys that sensitive information was shared by “at least 2018” with alleged Chinese co-conspirators “who worked for the China intelligence and security apparatus and who pretended to be for graduate students in a [Chinese] university”.

The Fed refused to comment.

Rogers, who speaks a limited Chinese, discussed teaching subjects that would make meetings “legitimate in the eyes of the Fed”, according to encrypted messages exchanged with his alleged co-conspirator quoted in the indictment.

Rogers’ trip was covered by its Chinese counterparts. “”[D]Don’t worry about the cost of travel. . . We do not waste money, but we can bear all the necessary costs, you can choose a comfortable and practical way for the trip, “said an alleged co-conspirator in a message included in the indictment.

Trade secrets at the heart of the case would include the assessment of an announcement from the European Central Bank, information tickets for a member of the Fed board of directors and a document entitled “Pré -Fomc briefing” – All dated 2019.

Rogers in 2020 lied to the Fed Inspector General’s Office when he asked his access and sharing of sensitive equipment, prosecutors said.

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