The US Department of Justice has detained Guan Lei, a Chinese researcher working at the University of California, Los Angeles, on charges of destroying evidence involved in a federal investigation. The Department of Justice stated that the destroyed information pertained to the illegal transfer of US technology and intellectual property to China. According to authorities, Lei threw a hard drive into a dumpster next to his residence in the US before attempting to board a flight to China.
However, the hard drive was recovered when Lei refused to allow the Federal Bureau of Investigation to examine his computer while passing through security to board the flight to China. Lei was prevented from boarding the flight and has since been arrested in the US. The FBI stated that the hard drive was damaged beyond repair and intentionally scraped of all data. The FBI has since opened an investigation into whether Lei was involved in the illegal transfer of US intellectual property or technology.
Read More: Chinese researcher charged with destroying evidence relating to illegal transfer of US tech
