A former employee of German parliamentarian Maximilian Krah has been sentenced to four years and nine months in prison for espionage on behalf of China. The Higher Regional Court of Dresden announced on Tuesday that the court found the clandestine activities of the defendant, Jian G., to be demonstrably proven in a particularly serious case.
Between 2019 and 2024, while employed in Krah’s then-office in the European Parliament, the German citizen is alleged to have gathered information and passed on partially confidential documents to Chinese entities. He is also accused of compiling personal data concerning AfD leadership and monitoring Chinese dissidents.
During the trial, G. denied the accusations, maintaining his innocence and asserting he had not worked for a Chinese intelligence service. His legal counsel argued for a full acquittal due to insufficient evidence, while the Federal Public Prosecutor’s Office had requested a prison sentence of seven and a half years.
A female accomplice, also facing charges, received a suspended sentence of one year and nine months. She was accused of providing data as an employee of a logistics company at Halle/Leipzig Airport. While admitting to sharing the data, she claimed to have been unaware of its connection to intelligence activities.
Separate investigations by the General Public Prosecutor’s Office in Dresden are ongoing against Krah himself, concerning allegations of bribery and money laundering related to payments originating from China. Krah has consistently denied any knowledge of the alleged activities of his former employee.