Overview

• Judges found Jian G. harvested confidential European Parliament materials from 2019 to 2024 and relayed information on AfD figures and Chinese dissidents to a Chinese intelligence service.
• Co-defendant Yaqi X. received a suspended sentence of one year and nine months for supplying flight, freight and passenger data from Leipzig/Halle airport, including on military transports.
• The court said access to sensitive files was eased because Maximilian Krah shared his personal login credentials, exposing lax office and IT practices.
• Federal prosecutors had sought seven and a half years, Jian G. continues to deny spying, and a senior prosecutor described the affair as Germany’s most serious Chinese espionage case uncovered.
• A separate Dresden probe into Krah over suspected bribery and money laundering linked to Chinese payments remains active after the Bundestag lifted his immunity and investigators conducted searches.