canadian civil servant faces nato espionage charges
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as questions surround the circumstances of a canadian who was charged with espionage while working as an intern at nato headquarters, reporting by the cbc has identified her as a systems engineer with a resume full of government jobs.
investigations by cbc news have identified the suspect as 32-year-old biwei zhang, who also uses the first names catina and claire – matching information released by officials in belgium that described the accused as a “canadian national of chinese origin.”
zhang was taken into custody by officials in mons, belgium, following searches at both her home and office at nato’s supreme headquarters allied powers europe (shape) in nearby casteau, about 45 km southeast of brussels.
systems engineer biwei zhang, 32, has been identified by a cbc news investigation as the canadian suspected of espionage while working as an intern at nato’s supreme headquarters allied powers europe (shape) in belgium. (catina zhang/facebook)
authorities have yet to confirm what intelligence may have been compromised during her time at nato.
arrest raises questions about security clearances
zhang, who previously held roles at the canadian space agency, statistics canada and the national research council, faces charges of espionage and participation in a criminal organization.
her arrest raises stark questions about how canada hands out security clearances, particularly after cbc uncovered court documents revealing she was previously caught committing fraud on a canada border services agency job application using fake emails and aliases to pass tests.
federal public safety minister gary anandasangaree.
bryan passifiume
/
toronto sun
despite these red flags, she still managed to secure an international security clearance.
that prompted public safety minister gary anandasangaree to tell cbc that a full investigation is coming on how canada hands out its security clearances.
“ultimately, we need to get to the bottom of this, and we need to ensure that these types of incidents do not occur in the future,” he said.
global affairs canada, which handles clearances for canadians on foreign secondments, declined to specify how zhang passed background checks.
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