A New York Police Department Officer has been charged of spying for China on Tibetans. The Federal Prosecutor in a statement released this Monday has unsealed a criminal complaint upon the NYPD officer for acting as an illegal agent of the People’s Republic of China to spy on Tibetans among many other charges listed in the official release.
Since at least 2014, Baimadjie Angwang allegedly acted at the direction and control of officials at the PRC Consulate in New York City, according to the statement. It added that he specifically reported on the activities of Chinese citizens in the New York area, spotted and assessed potential intelligence sources within the Tibetan community in New York and elsewhere, and provided PRC officials with access to senior NYPD officials through invitations to official events.
Angwang is also charged with committing wire fraud, making material false statements and obstructing an official proceeding. As part of his employment with the U.S. Army Reserve, Angwang maintained a “SECRET”-level security clearance, the official release added.
33 years old Angwang, an ethnic Tibetan native of the PRC and naturalized U.S. citizen, is assigned to the NYPD’s community affairs unit where he serves as a liaison to the community served by the 111th Precinct. He appeared via video conference in federal court Monday. If convicted of all charges, he could serve 55 years in prison.
Such espionage efforts by China against the Tibetan diaspora is a vastly extended network. Recently in India, a kingpin spy engaged in efforts to infiltrate into the inner circle of His Holiness the Dalai Lama was arrested. The arrest led to a nexus of espionage activities spreading into the exile Tibetan community.