Belgium detains Chinese man on suspicion of semiconductor espionage

BRUSSELS, Sept 7 (Reuters) - ‌Prosecutors in ​Belgium ​said they have held a man with dual Chinese and Belgian nationality in ‌pre-trial detention since May on suspicion of ⁠espionage in a case involving semiconductor technology.

The prosecutors said the ‌52-year-old man used to ‌hold a senior position at Belgian microchip maker Belgan, a specialised producer of gallium nitride ​semiconductors which was declared bankrupt in July 2024.

The man was suspected of simultaneously acting ⁠as a director of a Chinese company that made the same ​kind of chips, which had been established only a few months after he joined ​Belgan and which was financed ‌by a Chinese investment fund.

In that position he is suspected of illegally ⁠transferring specialised intellectual property and trade secrets abroad, all relating to the production of gallium nitride chips ⁠used in electric vehicles, aerospace and the military, the prosecutors ​said.

The man lives in Belgium and was arrested in May at Zaventem airport where he was planning to take ‌a flight to Beijing.

Prosecutors said the man remained in detention, and that ‌a second suspect in the investigation remained at ⁠large.

The Chinese embassy ‌in Belgium was ​not immediately available for comment.

(Reporting by Inti Landauro, editing by Bart Meijer and Andrew ‌Cawthorne)

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