(Longueuil) A former Hydro-Québec employee accused of spying on behalf of China entered a not guilty plea on Friday to two new charges brought against him in February.
Yuesheng Wang appeared Friday at the Longueuil courthouse to answer two other charges brought by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) under the Protection of Information Act. He is now also accused of committing preparatory acts on behalf of a foreign entity and informing China of his intentions.
In November 2022, Mr. Wang became the first person charged with economic espionage under Canada’s Information Security Act. He was then charged with obtaining industrial secrets, fraud for obtaining industrial secrets, breach of trust by a public official and unauthorized use of a computer.
The federal prosecutor on file, Marc Cigana, explained that the two new charges were added after a review of the evidence and facts already collected in this case.
The RCMP allege that Mr. Wang relayed information about Hydro-Québec to a Chinese university and Chinese research centers. He would also have published scientific articles and filed patents with them rather than with the Quebec state corporation.
The RCMP also alleges that Mr. Wang used information without the consent of Hydro-Québec, thereby infringing the intellectual property of his former employer, Hydro’s Center of Excellence in Transportation Electrification and Energy Storage. -Quebec, in Varennes, in Montérégie.
Mr. Wang, from Candiac, was released on bail in November 2022, subject to numerous conditions. He has previously said he intends to fight to clear his name.