A former Hydro-Quebec employee accused of spying for China, and detained for two weeks, was released on bail on Monday pending trial.
Yuesheng Wang, 35, is the first person to be charged with economic espionage under Canada’s Privacy Act. He also faces three charges under the Criminal Code: breach of trust, fraudulent and unauthorized use of a computer, and obtaining a trade secret by deception, lying or other fraudulent means.
Federal prosecutors had opposed his release because they feared he might leave the country. Mr. Wang assured the court last week that he wanted to stay in Canada to clear his reputation.
Mr. Wang, a Chinese national who holds a work visa for his job at Hydro-Quebec, has also denied the charges.
As conditions for his release, he must surrender his passport, carry a mobile phone with him at all times so authorities can locate him, and put his two properties on bail.
Until he was fired earlier this month, Wang worked at Hydro-Quebec’s Center of Excellence in Transportation Electrification and Energy Storage in Varennes. There he conducted research on battery materials, a promising sector for the electric vehicle industry.
According to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, which arrested him on November 14, Mr. Wang allegedly provided information about Hydro-Québec to a Chinese university and Chinese research centers, and transferred confidential documents and photos not allowed to their personal email address.
Prosecutor Marc Cigana told reporters Monday morning at the Longueuil courthouse that Mr. Wang made the unusual decision to testify at his bail hearing last week, and he called Judge Marco’s decision LaBrie’s legally valid.