Jean G. has been working as the AfD’s frontrunner for the European elections since 2019.
advertisementGerman police on Monday arrested an aide of a far-right lawmaker on suspicion of spying for China.
The man, named Jian G., is publicly listed as an authorized aide to Maximilian Kula, a leading candidate and member of parliament from the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party.
The Federal Prosecutor’s Office announced that he was charged with being an “official of a Chinese secret service” and of “repeatedly conveying information about negotiations and decisions in the European Parliament to clients of intelligence services.”
Jiang G is also suspected of spying on Chinese opposition figures in Germany.
China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has objected to the arrest, saying it was based on “disinformation.”
A Foreign Ministry spokesperson said: “All recent reports in Europe about Chinese spies have been exaggerated with the aim of slandering and suppressing China.”
According to Die Zeit, the man, a 43-year-old Chinese man with German nationality, met Krah while working as a businessman in Germany. He was originally brought to Krah’s team in Brussels as an assistant when Krah became a member of the European Parliament in 2019.
An AfD spokesperson told German news outlet Die Welt that reports of the arrests were “very worrying.”
Euronews contacted Kula’s news office for comment, but did not immediately receive a response.
The arrests are the fourth in recent weeks of German nationals accused of spying for China.
A man and a couple were arrested on Monday in the states of Hesse and North Rhine-Westphalia on suspicion of obtaining military technology information on behalf of China.
And last week, two men were arrested for plotting to block aid to Ukraine in Germany, possibly on behalf of the Russian government.
Jeanne G. will appear before a judge in Karlsruhe on Tuesday, where authorities will decide whether to issue an arrest warrant and detain her.
