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Following investigations by US Army Counterintelligence and the FBI, soldier and intelligence analyst for the US Army Korbein Schultz was arrested in March.
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He was charged with conspiracy to obtain and disclose national defence information alongside several other charges after he conspired with a Hong Kong-based individual, believed to be a Chinese government agent, to share national defence data for financial gain which he was able to access through his position in the US Army.
According to the investigation, which began in June 2022, Schultz was paid US$42,000 for “dozens of sensitive and restricted US military documents regarding a variety of US military weapons systems and US military tactics and strategy, including documents containing export-controlled technical data,” according to the US Department of Justice.
The alleged Chinese government agent was delivered 11 different types of confidential information before being arrested, which included information on the war in Ukraine and how lessons of the conflict would shape the US defence of Taiwan, Air Force tactics and procedures relating to a number of aircraft including the F-22A, the HH-60, the U-2 and the B-52, documents relating to Chinese military tactics, data on rocket missile and artillery weapons systems, information regarding military exercises in the Philippines and the Republic of Korea, documents relating to the deployment of US soldiers in Eastern Europe to aid in NATO operations and more.
“This soldier swore an oath to faithfully discharge his duties, to include protecting national defence information,” said Brigadier General Rhett R. Cox.
“Not only did he fail in his sworn duty, but he placed personal gain above his duty to our country and disclosed information that could give advantage to a foreign nation, putting his fellow soldiers in jeopardy.
“The US is governed by the rule of law and when persons placed in a position of trust violate that trust, the FBI and our partners will hold them accountable.
“Governments like China are aggressively targeting our military personnel and national security information and we will do everything in our power to ensure that information is safeguarded from hostile foreign governments.”
Schultz is set to face sentencing on 23 January next year, where he faces a total maximum sentence across all charges of 65 years.
