Germany arrests US citizen over accusations of spying for China

Germany’s federal prosecutor office said it arrested an American citizen on Thursday who allegedly spied for China.

The office said that the suspect, who was only identified as Martin D., was arrested in Frankfurt and that his home was being searched.

The accused, who until recently worked for the US Armed Forces in Germany, is strongly suspected of having agreed to act as an intelligence agent for a foreign secret service, the statement said.

Earlier this year, he contacted Chinese government agencies and offered to send sensitive information from the US military to a Chinese intelligence service, according to an investigation by Germany’s domestic intelligence service.

He had obtained the information in question during his work in the US army, the prosecutor’s statement said, without giving any further information.

German news agency dpa reported it appeared the suspect had not managed to transfer any data to Chinese authorities before the arrest.