WASHINGTON: The US Justice Department chief accused China of interfering with the American justice system on Monday as he announced indictments of 13 Chinese nationals who allegedly worked for Beijing’s spy agencies.

Three separate cases unveiled showed that “the government of China sought to interfere with the rights and freedoms of individuals in the United States and to undermine our judicial system that protects those rights,” said Attorney General Merrick Garland.

Two alleged Chinese intelligence officers were charged in New York on Monday after the FBI used a double agent to document their apparent efforts to interfere in the US prosecution of a major telecommunications company.

The Justice Department charged He Guochun and Wang Zheng with obstruction of justice, and He with money laundering, after they allegedly paid a US informant they believed they had recruited $61,000 worth of bitcoin to supply internal documents related to the case against the company.

Published in Dawn, October 25th, 2022