US South Asia expert Ashley Tellis charged with mishandling classified data, alleged China links

Washington, Oct 14 In a major development, Ashley Tellis, a long-time US government adviser and expert on India and South Asia, has been charged with unlawfully keeping national defence information and meeting Chinese officials.

A federal affidavit filed on October 13, 2025, in the Eastern District of Virginia accuses Tellis of taking classified documents from secure facilities and storing them at his home in Vienna, Virginia.

The 10-page affidavit filed by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) details a series of surveillance observations and evidence pointing to Tellis's alleged misconduct, including the removal of classified materials from secure facilities.

According to court documents, on September 12, 2025, video surveillance captured Tellis at the Department of Defence (DOD)'s Mark Centre in Alexandria, where he had a co-worker print multiple classified documents, including one at the "TOP SECRET" level.

On September 25, 2025, Tellis accessed a classified State Department computer system in Washington, D.C., and opened a 1,288-page US Air Force document marked "secret", the documents allege.

He allegedly renamed the file “Econ Reform” to hide its contents, printed hundreds of pages, and then deleted the file. The court documents say he also printed two other 40-page Air Force documents on military aircraft, both classified “Secret.”

The FBI alleged that on October 10, Tellis was observed hiding these documents – believed to include the top-secret material – inside notepads and placing them in his leather briefcase before leaving the facility and driving home.

The affidavit also noted that Tellis met several times over the years with Chinese officials. In one 2022 meeting, he arrived with a manila envelope and left without it after two hours.

In later meetings, they discussed topics such as Iran-China ties, artificial intelligence, and US-Pakistan relations. At their most recent meeting on September 2, 2025, Chinese officials gave Tellis a red gift bag, the affidavit alleged.

The documents say that "Ashley Tellis is currently an unpaid Senior Advisor at the Department of State. Additionally, he is a contractor in the Office of Net Assessment (ONA) within the DoD. In his role with ONA, Tellis is considered a subject matter expert on India and South Asian affairs.

Additionally, he is employed as a Senior Fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, a think tank in Washington."

Tellis has previously served as a senior adviser to the US undersecretary of state for political affairs and was involved in negotiating the civil nuclear agreement with India.

Tellis could not be immediately contacted for a response.

--IANS

scor/dan

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