Who is alleged Chinese spy linked to Prince Andrew? | Global News Avenue

Yang Tengbo has been identified as a 50-year-old Chinese businessman suspected of espionage and banned from entering the UK.

British authorities charged him Developed an “unusual level of trust” Established relationships with Prince Andrew and established relationships with politicians for China to “exploit”.

Details of the charges against Mr Young emerged last week, with the Special Immigration Appeal Tribunal upholding a Home Office order banning him from entering the UK on national security grounds following a long legal battle.

On Monday, a court order lifted a previous order that could only identify him as an H6.

Mr Yang said the accusation that he was a spy was “completely untrue” and denied any illegal conduct.

Yang Tengbo, Also known as Chris Yang, he was born in China in 1974. I first came to the UK in 2002, studied in London for a year, and then obtained a master’s degree in public administration and public policy from the University of York.

In 2005, he founded consultancy Hampton Group International, one of five publicly listed companies in the UK of which he is a director.

On May 21, 2013, he was granted indefinite leave to remain in the UK. He told the court that before the pandemic he spent an average of two weeks a month in the UK.

After his anonymity was lifted on Monday, he described Britain as his “second home” and said he would “never do anything to harm” the country.

Mr Yang was stopped at the UK border on 6 November 2021 for undisclosed reasons. He handed over his cell phone and other digital devices.

In February 2022, he launched legal action to prevent the British government from retaining his data. He first won the case but lost on appeal.

He was subsequently told that British authorities believed he had links to the United Front Work Department (UFWD) – the secret arm of the Chinese government that organizes its cultural influence operations.

The United Front Work Department has been linked to multiple cases of alleged Chinese government interference in Western countries, and researchers say it often attempts to co-opt legitimate Chinese businesses and community groups abroad.

One year later, in February 2023, When Mr. Yang returned from Beijing, he “deplaned” on the flight to London. He was told the UK was making a decision to ban him from entering the country.

Mr Yang’s lawyers are asking the government to disclose the charges against him and give him a chance to defend himself.

On March 15, 2023, then Home Secretary Suella Braverman ordered that Mr Young’s residency rights be revoked. She banned him from entering the UK because it was “in the public interest”.

Mr. Yang learned of the matter on March 23, 2023, and initiated legal proceedings shortly after.

The Home Office decided to suppress some of Mr Yang’s evidence contained in a document court ruling Maintain the decision announced last week.

Authorities relied on data found on Mr Yang’s devices when he was arrested in 2021, including documents that British authorities said were linked to the United Front Work Department and other groups with ties to Beijing.

British authorities argued that these showed he was “regularly in contact with officials with links to the Chinese government”. They also said he “sometimes deliberately concealed” his connections with the Chinese government, the Chinese Communist Party and the United Front Work Department, and claimed there were “elements of deception” in his accounts.

The Home Office also argued that while Mr Yang said he had received no direct orders to interfere with British interests, “someone in his position would have understood the objectives of the United Front and the Chinese Communist Party” and “actively acted without being assigned a task” Get involved”.

They also pointed out that Mr Yang is a member of the London-based 48 Group Club, which promotes trade between the UK and China. Security officials argue Beijing could use Mr Yang’s honorary membership for political interference.

The 48 Group Club said in response to US-funded Radio Free Asia that Mr Yang had never been actively involved in the group’s operations.

While the tribunal ruled there was “sufficient” evidence against Mr Young in some circumstances, and said there might be “exculpatory explanations” in other cases, it ultimately ruled there was “sufficient” material to support MI5’s conclusion. is correct that he poses a security threat. risk.

Mr Yang said he would appeal the ruling.

British authorities discovered a letter from Dominic Hampshire, a senior adviser to Prince Andrew, saying Mr Yang could approach potential investors in China on behalf of the duke.

Mr Hampshire also told Mr Young in a letter: “You are sitting at the very top of a tree that many other than (the prince’s) closest internal confidants would like to sit on.”

It was unclear whether this was a genuine claim made by Mr Hampshire, who has not spoken publicly since being named in the ruling.

But the Home Office saw this as evidence that Mr Yang was able to “build relationships between prominent British figures and senior Chinese officials” which Beijing “could exploit for political interference purposes”.

A document setting out the “main talking points” of a call with Prince Andrew was also discovered, saying the duke was “in a desperate position and would seize on anything”.

Prince Andrew said he had “ceased all contact with Mr Yang” after receiving advice from the government, but did not specify when contact would cease. His office said they met “through official channels” and “no sensitive issues were discussed.”

Mr Yang strongly denies the charges against him. In his first statement to the court, he said he had no relationship with anyone in Chinese politics, had never been a member of the Chinese Communist Party and had never carried out activities on behalf of the United Front Work Department.

In further submissions, he also stated that his contacts with the Chinese government were limited and that “contact with the United Front Work Department is inevitable”.

Mr Yang said he had fallen victim to a new political climate in which the UK had become tougher on China.

“When relations were good, Britain would seek Chinese investment and I would be welcomed. When relations deteriorated, Britain would take an anti-China stance and I would be excluded,” Mr Yang said.

A spokesperson for Beijing’s Foreign Ministry said on Monday that “such unfair hype is not worthy of refutation,” adding in a statement last week that “some people in the UK are always keen to fabricate baseless ‘spies’ against China.” ‘story”.

Reported by BBC Verify