John Leung, an FBI informant who was gathering intelligence on China, was among the three people freed in a rare prisoner swap between the two countries. The other two were Mark Swidan and Kai Li. John Leung was taken into custody in China in 2021 after he travelled to the mainland at 75. Later, he was sentenced to life in prison -- a first in decades for an American accused of espionage, The New York Times reported.
He made an image for himself as a philanthropist, gaining access to the Chinese power circles. In Houston, he directed groups that promoted China's political interests and even attended Chinese state banquets. He got familiar with senior Chinese officials, including the foreign minister, its ambassador and three consuls general to the US.
Although much remains unclear about his relations with the FBI, the Ministry of State Security in China said Leung was spying during his stay in the country. The US officials denied this, saying he had not worked for the FBI for years. They added that the bureau even discouraged him from making the trip.
A few pro-China groups Leung was part of have been linked to organisations under scrutiny in the US. One of them was affiliated with the National Association for China's Peaceful Unification, which, in 2020, was designated as a foreign mission, that the then-Trump administration accused of seeking "to spread Beijing's malign influence in the United States."
Nigel Inkster, ex-director of operations and intelligence for Britain's Secret Intelligence Service, said Leung's work with these groups might have made him a useful informant. He has described him as a likely "access agent," who had "no access to secrets himself but access to people who might have them."
The spy agency in China claims that Leung "collected a significant amount of intelligence related to China." Even the Chinese ministry alleged that he lured Chinese officials into US hotel rooms for "pornographic traps". They have even released a video of Leung in custody, wherein he expressed regret for the work he has done.
Officials in the US have denied these claims. Upon his arrival in the US, Leung was sent to an Army medical centre outside San Antonio.
