Chinese Hinkley backer accused of espionage

Chinese energy firm ready to invest £18Bn in Hinkley Point C, Somerset, facing charges of nuclear espionage.

Britain’s Chinese partner in the investment of major nuclear power point, Hinkley Point C, is facing nuclear espionage charges in the United States.

China General Nuclear Power (CGN), a state owned energy company, and Allen Ho, have been accused of plotting to steal US nuclear technology and develop nuclear materials in China without US approval and “with the intent to secure an advantage to the People’s Republic of China”.

According to the US justice department, the Chinese company have been charged by the US government.

The decision to go ahead with Hinkley Point C was recently delayed unexpectedly, after Theresa May expressed concerns over China’s involvement.

According to a Labour peer, Mrs May is more likely to be concerned about the economics behind the deal, and wants to “own the detail”.

Former business secretary Lord Mandelson said it would be “globally suicidal” for China, which has a one-third stake in the project, to be seen to be interfering with another country’s security.

Chinese ambassador to the UK recently warned that a decision to not go through with the project would ruin a “mutual trust” between the countries, and that the relationship was at a “crucial historical juncture”.

Assistant US attorney general John P Carlin said: “Allen Ho, at the direction of a Chinese state-owned nuclear power company allegedly approached and enlisted US-based nuclear experts to provide integral assistance in developing and producing special nuclear material in China.

“Ho did so without registering with the Department of Justice as an agent of a foreign nation or authorisation from the US Department of Energy”, Carlin continued. “Prosecuting those who seek to evade US law by attaining sensitive nuclear technology for foreign nations is a top priority for the National Security Division.”

 

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