A Chinese national has pleaded guilty in a US federal court in Boston in connection with illegally procuring and causing the illegal export of US-origin goods to a Chinese military university.
A US Justice Department release said that 44-year-old Shuren Qin used to smuggle marine technology to China's Northwestern Polytechnical University (NWPU), which works closely with the People's Liberation Army on the advancement of its military capabilities.
Qin had established LinkOcean Technologies in 2014 which he used to import goods and technology with underwater and marine applications into China from the United States, Canada, and Europe.
"Today, he pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to unlawfully export items from the United States to NWPU without first obtaining the required export licenses; one count of visa fraud; two counts of making false statements to law enforcement agents regarding his customers and the types of parts he caused to be exported from the United States to the People's Republic of China (PRC); four counts of money laundering; and two counts of smuggling hydrophones from the US to the PRC," Justice Department release read.
"Qin took advantage of the open marketplace in the United States to purchase sensitive technologies for a Chinese military university," said Assistant Attorney General John C. Demers for the Justice Department's National Security Division.
"In addition, he lied on his visa application and to US customs officers. When individuals illegally pursue personal profit at the expense of US national security, DOJ will disrupt such conduct and punish those involved."
The Chinese university has been involved in the development of unmanned aerial vehicles, autonomous underwater vehicles and missile proliferation projects, the release said.
Since 2001, the US Department of Commerce (DOC) has designated NWPU on its Entity List for national security reasons.
( With inputs from ANI )
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