Chinese man, accused of targeting US Covid vaccine efforts, held in Italy: What is the case?

A 33-year-old Chinese man has been arrested over alleged industrial espionage in Italy, news agency Reuters reported. The man, Xu Zewei, from Shanghai was wanted by the US for allegedly targeting projects like efforts to develop a Covid vaccine and was apprehended last week on a U.S. arrest warrant as part of an FBI investigation after he arrived at Milan’s Malpensa airport. Zewei, however, has denied all the allegations, terming it a case of mistaken identity.

What are the allegations?

According to the US authorities, Zewei was a part of the team that in 2020 hacked and targeted US-based universities, immunologist, and virologists engaged in research into Covid-19 testing. treatment and vaccine. The group also targeted a research university in the Southern District of Texas. The charges listed on the warrant against Zewei were wire fraud and aggravated identity theft, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, and unauthorised access to protected computers, reported Reuters.

What does the accused say?

Zewei has opposed the extradition, claiming that he is a victim of mistaken identity, his lawyer said told the media. “He told the judge that he had no reason to do what he is accused of and suggested that someone may have hacked into and used his account,” Reuters reported his lawyer Enrico Giarda as saying the the culmination of the extradition hearing which was held behind closed doors in Milan. The lawyer also stated that his client pointed out in the court that his surname is quite common in China and that his mobile phone too got stolen in 2020.

What now?

“We are now waiting for the U.S. authorities to send us the investigation files so that we can understand how they came to identify him as the perpetrator,” Giarda said. Washington has 40 days to send the related documents. Zewei’s counsel also specified that they plan to request for house arrest at a later stage.

— with inputs from Reuters