New criminal charges were brought Wednesday against former Hydro-Québec employee Yuesheng Wang, arrested for espionage in November 2022. The continuation of the investigation by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) made it possible to add two counts of preparatory acts on behalf of a foreign entity.
Mr. Wang, who is at large but subject to various release conditions, was already awaiting trial on charges of obtaining trade secrets, unauthorized use of a computer, fraud to obtain trade secrets and abuse of trusted by a public official.
The two new charges relate to obtaining sensitive information and informing a foreign entity or foreign economic entity that he was prepared to commit an offense for its benefit.
The lawsuit claims that he illegally obtained industrial secrets from Hydro-Québec concerning the development of batteries, “for the benefit of the People’s Republic of China.”
The Press has already revealed that during his studies at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Yuesheng Wang had as his thesis advisor Professor Hu Yong-Sheng, who is today one of the directors of HiNa Battery Technology, a Chinese company which has already is demonstrating a “mini-electric car” powered by its own battery design and which promises to develop a new generation of batteries for the global market.
After his employment at Hydro-Québec as a researcher, Mr. Wang continued to publish scientific articles on battery-related technologies in collaboration with the director of the Chinese company.
At his bail hearing, the accused already confirmed that he was a member of the Chinese Communist Party, but said he was several years behind in paying his dues. He also said his name was used without his consent for scientific work in China.