Chinese Hinkley Backer CGN Accused Of US Nuclear Espionage

Britain's Chinese partner in the Hinkley Point power station deal has been accused of plotting to steal US nuclear (Other OTC: UCLE - news) technology secrets.

State-owned energy giant China General Nuclear Power (CGN) allegedly used a Chinese-born US citizen to access sensitive information - with the aim of speeding up the progress of reactor technology in China.

Szuhsiung Ho, also known as Allen Ho, 66, is due in court next week accused of tapping up US experts to pass nuclear technology information to China in a plot that threatened US national security.

The claims may fuel fears over the UK's Hinkley Point deal, which has been stalled by Prime Minister Theresa May over concerns about involving China in a key infrastructure project.

China has urged Britain to approve the deal as quickly as possible, with the country's ambassador to Britain, Liu Xiaoming, warning that relations between the two countries are at "a crucial historical juncture".

Along with EDF (Paris: FR0010242511 - news) in France, CGN is a major investor in Hinkley Point and would also be involved in a plant in Sizewell, Suffolk, before working on a plant at Bradwell in Essex.

The US Department of Justice indictment accuses nuclear engineer Mr Ho - who ran his own consulting company and was a senior adviser to CGN - of finding six experts in the US to channel information back to CGN.

In one email, sent in 2009, he allegedly wrote: "China has the budget to spend. They want to bypass the research stage and go directly to the final design and manufacturing phase."

Mr Ho allegedly worked to pass secrets to CGN from 1997 until his arrest in 2016 - including facilitating travel to China and payments for the US-based experts in exchange for their services.

When the indictment was unsealed in April, Michael Steinback from the FBI's National Security Branch said: "The arrest and indictment in this case send an important message to the US nuclear community that foreign entities want the information you possess.

"The federal government has regulations in place to oversee civil nuclear cooperation, and if those authorities are circumvented, this can result in significant damage to our national security."

Mr Ho faces a maximum sentence of life in prison and a £193,000 ($250,000) fine if found guilty of unlawfully helping with production of nuclear material outside the US.