Image caption Mr Hansen worked as a case officer for the Defence Intelligence Agency

A former US intelligence officer has appeared in court in Seattle charged with attempting to spy for China.

Ron Rockwell Hansen, 58, was arrested by the FBI on Saturday on his way to a Seattle airport for a flight to China.

The justice department says Mr Hansen attempted to pass on information and received at least $800,000 (£600,000) for acting as a Chinese agent.

He agreed in a brief court appearance to be returned to his home state of Utah to face charges.

What are the charges?

Mr Hansen, who lives in Syracuse, Utah, was charged with attempting to gather or deliver national defence information to aid a foreign government.

Other charges - there are 15 in total - include acting as an unregistered foreign agent for China, bulk cash smuggling, structuring monetary transactions and smuggling goods from the US.

If convicted of attempted espionage, Mr Hansen faces a maximum penalty of life in prison.

Assistant Attorney General John Demers called Mr Hansen's alleged actions "a betrayal of our nation's security" and an "affront to his former intelligence community colleagues".

John Huber, US attorney for the state of Utah, called the allegations "very troubling".

Who is Ron Hansen?

According to court documents cited by the justice department, Mr Hansen served in the US Army as a warrant officer with a background in signals intelligence and human intelligence, before being recruited by the DIA as a civilian intelligence case officer in 2006.

The justice department says Mr Hansen, who is fluent in Mandarin and Russian, held top secret clearance "for many years" and travelled regularly between the US and China in 2013-17.

He is alleged to have attempted repeatedly to regain access to classified information after he stopped working for the US government, thereby alerting authorities to his actions.

What is the DIA?

The Defense Intelligence Agency is a branch of the Department of Defense, responsible for analysing and disseminating military intelligence.

The agency's primary responsibility is providing foreign military intelligence for US combat missions. It was established in 1961 and now has about 17,000 employees.

How are US-China relations?

The arrest comes at a challenging time for relations between the two countries. On Saturday, US Defence Secretary James Mattis accused China of attempting to intimidate its neighbours by deploying missiles to disputed islands in the South China Sea.

A Chinese military official dismissed the comments as "irresponsible".

Trade talks currently taking place between the two countries in Beijing have been overshadowed by a looming start date for US tariffs on Chinese goods.

Late last month, the White House announced plans to place a 25% tariffs on $50bn (£37bn) worth of Chinese imports, a significant escalation in a trade war between the two countries.

What other spying cases have been reported?

Mr Hansen is the latest in a string of former US intelligence officers caught up in spying cases related to China:

Jerry Chun Shing, a former CIA case officer, was charged earlier this month with conspiring to gather or deliver national defence information to China</s>A former officer with the U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency was arrested over the weekend for allegedly trying to spy on the United States for China, the Justice Department said on Monday.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation took Ron Rockwell Hansen, 58, into custody on Saturday while he was on his way to the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport to get a connecting flight to China.

The department said he has been accused of trying to transmit national defense information to China and with receiving “hundreds of thousands of dollars” while acting illegally as an agent for the Chinese government.

Reuters could not immediately learn who may be representing Hansen in the case.

Hansen is the latest person in a string of former U.S. intelligence officers to be swept up in criminal probes related to spying for the Chinese.

Earlier this year, former CIA case officer Jerry Chun Shing Lee was indicted for conspiring to gather or deliver national defense information to China.

Another former U.S. intelligence employee named Kevin Mallory is on trial in Virginia, also in connection with selling secrets to China.

In the new case announced Monday, prosecutors said that Hansen speaks fluent Mandarin-Chinese and Russian.

He served as a case officer for the Defense Intelligence Agency while on active military duty from 2000-2006, and later continued that line of work as a civilian employee and a contractor.

He also held a top secret clearance for years.

Used travel to deliver information to China

The government said that between 2013 and 2017, he traveled between the two countries attending conferences and provided the information he learned to China's intelligence service.

He was paid via wire transfers, cash and credit cards. He also allegedly improperly sold export-controlled technology.

“His alleged actions are a betrayal of our nation’s security and the American people and are an affront to his former intelligence community colleagues,” said John Demers, the head of the Justice Department’s National Security Division.

According to court records, the FBI started investigating his activities in 2014. He was unaware of the probe, and participated in nine voluntary meetings with federal agents in Salt Lake City. Utah.

Prosecutors say that during his meetings, he told the FBI that Chinese intelligence had tried to recruit him, offered to cooperate as a source and even provided thumb drives to the FBI that contained classified materials he was not authorized to have.

Hansen appeared before a magistrate judge in Seattle on Monday, and is charged in a 15-count complaint.</s>WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A former officer with the U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency was arrested over the weekend for allegedly trying to spy on the United States for China, the Justice Department said on Monday.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation took Ron Rockwell Hansen, 58, into custody on Saturday while he was on his way to the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport to get a connecting flight to China.

The department said he has been accused of trying to transmit national defense information to China and with receiving "hundreds of thousands of dollars" while acting illegally as an agent for the Chinese government.

Reuters could not immediately learn who may be representing Hansen in the case.

Hansen is the latest person in a string of former U.S. intelligence officers to be swept up in criminal probes related to spying for the Chinese.

Earlier this year, former CIA case officer Jerry Chun Shing Lee was indicted for conspiring to gather or deliver national defense information to China.

Another former U.S. intelligence employee named Kevin Mallory is on trial in Virginia, also in connection with selling secrets to China.

In the new case announced Monday, prosecutors said that Hansen speaks fluent Mandarin-Chinese and Russian.

He served as a case officer for the Defense Intelligence Agency while on active military duty from 2000-2006, and later continued that line of work as a civilian employee and a contractor.

He also held a top secret clearance for years.

The government said that between 2013 and 2017, he traveled between the two countries attending conferences and provided the information he learned to China's intelligence service.

He was paid via wire transfers, cash and credit cards. He also allegedly improperly sold export-controlled technology.

“His alleged actions are a betrayal of our nation's security and the American people and are an affront to his former intelligence community colleagues," said John Demers, the head of the Justice Department's National Security Division.

He is expected to appear before a magistrate judge in Seattle later on Monday, and is charged in a 15-count complaint.</s>WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A former officer with the U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency was arrested over the weekend for allegedly trying to spy on the United States for China, the Justice Department said on Monday.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation took Ron Rockwell Hansen, 58, into custody on Saturday while he was on his way to the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport to get a connecting flight to China.

The department said he has been accused of trying to transmit national defense information to China and with receiving “hundreds of thousands of dollars” while acting illegally as an agent for the Chinese government.</s>A Utah man who worked for the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) has been charged with attempting to transfer defense intelligence to China, the Department of Justice announced Monday.

Ron Rockwell Hansen was arrested by the FBI as the former defense intelligence officer was en route to Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, allegedly intending to board a flight to China.

“Ron Rockwell Hansen is a former Defense Intelligence Agency officer who allegedly attempted to transmit national defense information to the People’s Republic of China’s intelligence service (PRCIS) and also allegedly received hundreds of thousands of dollars while illegally acting as an agent of China,” Assistant Attorney General Demers said in a statement.

“His alleged actions are a betrayal of our nation’s security and the American people and are an affront to his former intelligence community colleagues. Our intelligence professionals swear an oath to protect our country’s most closely held secrets and the National Security Division will continue to relentlessly pursue justice against those who violate this oath.”

Hasen, facing a 15-count complaint, is accused of attempting to collect and transmit “national defense information to aid a foreign government” while operating an “unregistered foreign agent for China.” The 58-year-old is also accused of smuggling bulk cash and goods from the United States into a foreign country.

According to court documents summarized by the Justice Department, China paid Hasen — a retired U.S. Army Warrant Officer — at least $800,000 for his services since 2013:

DIA hired Hansen as a civilian intelligence case officer in 2006. Hansen held a Top Secret clearance for many years, and signed several non-disclosure agreements during his tenure at DIA and as a government contractor. Between 2013 and 2017, Hansen regularly traveled between the United States and China, attending military and intelligence conferences in the U.S. and provided the information he learned at the conferences to contacts in China associated with the PRCIS. Hansen received payments for this information by a variety of methods, including cash, wires and credit card transactions. He also improperly sold export-controlled technology to persons in China. From May of 2013 to the date of the complaint, Hansen received not less than $800,000 in funds originating from China.

“These allegations are very troubling in their description of conduct that runs contrary to how we identify ourselves as Americans,” said U.S. Attorney John Huber for the District of Utah. “On the other hand, revealed details of this lengthy investigation reflect effective performance and dedication on the part of the men and women of the FBI and their partners.”</s>Former U.S. Intelligence Officer Charged With Selling Secrets To China

A former Defense Intelligence Agency officer has been charged with attempted espionage for allegedly selling secrets to China.

Ron Rockwell Hansen, a 58-year-old Utah resident, was seized on Saturday on his way to the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, where prosecutors say he meant to board a China-bound flight.

According to The Associated Press, a 41-page felony complaint details how Hansen was paid as much as $800,000 over a period of years to provide technology and secrets to Beijing.

"Several years after he left the U.S. government, he allegedly attended trade conferences on behalf of China and shared information he gathered with officials connected to Chinese intelligence. Charging documents also allege he transferred forensic software worth several thousand dollars, in violation of export controls," the AP writes.

The FBI reportedly began investigating Hansen in 2014 and he allegedly approached FBI informants in 2015 and again in 2016, acknowledging to them that he was being paid to pass information to China, according to the AP.

Reuters reports that he also allegedly sold export-controlled technology.

"His alleged actions are a betrayal of our nation's security and the American people and are an affront to his former intelligence community colleagues," John Demers, the head of the Justice Department's National Security Division, was quoted by Reuters as saying.

Hansen was a DIA case officer while on active military duty from 2000-2006 and held a top-secret clearance for years.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying was quoted by Reuters as saying she had no information on the case.

"But certainly of late there have been some issues between China and the United States," Hua told reporters in Beijing. "We think China and the U.S. are two major countries and both sides should do more things that strengthen cooperation and mutual trust."

Last month, Jerry Chun Shing Lee, a 53-year-old former Central Intelligence Agency officer who is a naturalized U.S. citizen, was charged with conspiracy to commit espionage on behalf of China.

In 2012, the FBI searched his hotel room in Honolulu and discovered notebooks of handwritten notes – including information about U.S. assets in China, according to court documents.

Through his attorney, Lee has denied that he is a Chinese spy.</s>FBI agents arrested a former Defense Intelligence Agency officer Saturday as he was about to board a plane to China on charges that include attempting to share defense secrets with the Chinese government.

Ron Rockwell Hansen, 58, was seized by federal agents on his way to the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. He faces a number of federal charges, including the attempted transmission of national defense information to the People’s Republic of China, acting as an unregistered foreign agent for China, bulk cash smuggling, structuring monetary transactions and smuggling goods from the United States.

Assistant Attorney General Demers said Hansen, "allegedly received hundreds of thousands of dollars while illegally acting as an agent of China."

"His alleged actions are a betrayal of our nation's security and the American people and are an affront to his former intelligence community colleagues," Demers said in a statement. "Our intelligence professionals swear an oath to protect our country’s most closely held secrets and the National Security Division will continue to relentlessly pursue justice against those who violate this oath.”

"The allegations in this complaint are grave as it appears Mr. Hansen engaged in behavior that betrayed his oath and his country," said FBI agent Eric Barnhart from the bureau's Salt Lake City office. "This case drives home the troubling reality of insider threats and that current and former clearance holders will be targeted by our adversaries. The FBI will aggressively investigate individuals who put our national security at risk."

Hansen retired after more than 20 years in the Army where he was an officer with a background in "signals intelligence and human intelligence" who speaks fluent Mandarin Chinese and Russian, according to court documents.

While in the Army, Hansen worked as an intelligence case officer for the DIA, the Pentagon's intelligence agency, from 2000 to 2006. In 2006, he was hired by the DIA as a civilian intelligence case officer. During his time in the Army and as a civilian at DIA, Hansen had top secret security clearance.

Hansen made regular trips between the U.S. and China from 2013 to 2017, according to the government complaint. He then shared information he learned at military and intelligence conferences in the U.S. with contacts tied to China's intelligence service, according to prosecutors.

In exchange, Hansen was paid more than $800,000 in funds that came from China, according to the criminal complaint.

Hansen will appear in federal court in Seattle on Monday at 5 p.m. PT to face a judge regarding the 15-count complaint against him.</s>A former US intelligence officer has been charged with attempting to spy for China

Mr Hansen was allegedly carrying classified information when he was arrested and had received at least $800,000 (£600,000) for acting as a Chinese agent, according to the justice department.

In total, the accused been charged on 15 counts, including structuring monetary transactions, smuggling goods from the US, bulk cash smuggling and acting as an unregistered foreign agent for China.

The arrest is the latest in a series of American officials who have been charged for spying on behalf of Beijing.

Mr Hansen, who is fluent in Chinese and Russian, served in the US Army as a warrant officer and has a background in signals and human intelligence. He was subsequently recruited by the US Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) in 2006 and worked as a civilian intelligence case officer — someone who recruits and manages foreign agents.</s>(CN) – Police arrested a former officer with the Defense Intelligence Agency as he tried to board a plane to China this weekend on charges that he sold U.S. military intelligence to Chinese officials.

Federal prosecutors say Ron Rockwell Hansen, a retired warrant officer with the U.S. Army and former intelligence case officer with the Defense Intelligence Agency made more than $800,000 by selling secrets to China before he tipped his hand in trying to recruit a second Defense Intelligence Agency officer.

Hansen has made 40 trips to China since 2013, according to criminal information filed on Saturday. He attended U.S. intelligence and military conference and reported information from them to his contacts with the Chinese Ministry of State Security, prosecutors say.

When he returned from several of those trips, the FBI obtained court orders to search his luggage. Hansen regularly brought tens of thousands of dollars in cash back from China, along with thumb drives hidden in places like balled up socks stuffed in his shoes, the criminal complaint says

The arrangement was very lucrative, until his military contract work apparently dried up in 2011. He repeatedly tried to get back into a position that would allow him to gather more U.S. military secrets, according to the complaint, but couldn’t manage to get hired by the FBI or U.S. Army Intelligence despite offering to work as a double agent against China and as an aide to a member of the U.S. House of Representatives on the Committee on Intelligence.

Thus thwarted, Hansen turned to recruitment within the Defense Intelligence Agency. He contacted a current case officer in 2016 and tried to talk the officer into gathering information for his Chinese contacts. He offered the same $300,000-per-year “consulting” contract he later told the FBI that he himself had been offered. But his plan backfired when the officer he tried to recruit turned into a confidential source against him.

When he was arrested Saturday, Hansen carried a page of handwritten notes that included encrypted information, as well as the personal information of the agent he tried to recruit including date of birth, email addresses and employment locations – all of which he intended to take to China, prosecutors say.

The 15-count complaint accuses Hansen of selling defense information, structuring his financial transactions to hide their size and origin, and smuggling. Hansen is scheduled for his initial appearance in federal court in Seattle on Monday afternoon.</s>SALT LAKE CITY — Federal prosecutors have leveled charges against a Utah man accused of spying for China.

Ron Rockwell Hansen, 58, of Syracuse, is a former Defense Intelligence Agency officer who was arrested Saturday at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport attempting to board a flight to China. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for Utah accuses him of attempted espionage — receiving hundreds of thousands of dollars for trying to transmit defense information to the People’s Republic of China’s Intelligence Service.

“His alleged actions are a betrayal of our nation’s security and the American people and are an affront to his former intelligence community colleagues. Our intelligence professionals swear an oath to protect our country’s most closely held secrets and the National Security Division will continue to relentlessly pursue justice against those who violate this oath,” said Assistant U.S. Attorney General John Demers in a statement.

Hansen was due to appear before a federal judge in Seattle on Monday afternoon. The complaint out of of Salt Lake City charges Hansen with with attempting to gather or deliver national defense information to aid a foreign government. The complaint also charges Hansen with acting as an unregistered foreign agent for China, bulk cash smuggling, structuring monetary transactions, and smuggling goods from the United States.

Federal prosecutors allege that Hansen, a retired warrant officer with the U.S. Army who spoke fluent Mandarin and Russian, was hired as a DIA civilian intelligence case officer in 2006. He held a top secret clearance for years. Hansen traveled between the U.S. and China between 2013 and 2017, and provided military and intelligence information to contacts in China associated with PRCIS, the charging documents allege. He received payments of at least $800,000 originating from China, prosecutors claim.

“In addition, Hansen repeatedly attempted to regain access to classified information after he stopped working on behalf of the U.S. Government. Hansen’s alerting behavior ultimately resulted in the participation of a law enforcement source from whom Hansen solicited classified information. Hansen disclosed to the source his ongoing contact with the PRCIS, including in-person meetings with intelligence officers during his trips to China,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office for Utah said in a statement.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation of the United States announces the arrest of an employee of the Defense Intelligence Agency whom they have charged with spying on the behalf of China.