Chinese Intelligence Officers "Bribe" with Bitcoin to Steal US National Secrets

The US Department of Justice has charged two Chinese intelligence officers with bribery involving Bitcoin (BTC) in exchange for classified information.

Early on October 25, the US Department of Justice announced a successful counterintelligence operation, uncovering two Chinese intelligence officers who obstructed a US investigation into a China-managed company.

According to the announcement, the two spies bribed a US intelligence agent with $61,000 to obtain classified documents about an investigation targeting a Chinese global telecommunications firm, which was not named specifically. In reality, the US agent was actually an undercover operative planted by the FBI to expose the operation.

Notably, the bribery was conducted using Bitcoin (BTC). Specifically, in November 2021, the two Chinese officers transferred $41,000 in BTC to the US agent to steal documents related to the investigation. In October 2022, they sent an additional $20,000 in Bitcoin to further secure the agent’s loyalty.

After gathering sufficient evidence, the US Department of Justice has filed the case with the Eastern District Court of New York. The two Chinese intelligence officers face charges of obstructing a criminal investigation and two counts of money laundering through the bribes. The defendants are reportedly residing in China.

This incident once again casts a shadow over the cryptocurrency sector, which has been a focal point in US politics due to ongoing discussions and proposals for crypto regulation.

However, the crypto community has reacted with a mix of amusement and indifference, joking that “Bitcoin has a new use case” and noting that “this is proof that the Chinese government is buying Bitcoin” despite its ban on domestic trading activities.