A U.S. think tank leader who has repeatedly accused President Biden and his family of corruption has been charged with acting as an unregistered agent of China, Manhattan prosecutors announced Monday evening.
Gal Luft, co-director of the Maryland-based Institute for the Analysis of Global Security, is accused of recruiting and paying an unnamed former high-ranking U.S. government official on behalf of principals based in China in 2016, without registering as a foreign agent, which is legally required.
The former high-ranking official was an adviser to Donald Trump, who was the President-elect at the time, and was allegedly paid to publicly support certain policies pertaining to China, according to the 58-page, eight-count indictment unsealed Monday.
Manhattan prosecutors also allege Luft attempted to broker illicit arms deals to sell weapons to countries including Libya, the United Arab Emirates and Kenya without having a license to do so, as is legally required in the U.S.
And Luft is accused of violating Iran sanctions by setting up meetings between Iranian officials and a Chinese energy company to discuss oil deals. When interviewed by U.S. law enforcement, Luft allegedly made false statements regarding his role brokering those deals.
“As alleged, the defendant engaged in multiple schemes to evade sanctions and laws intended to protect our national security,” Christie M. Curtis, FBI acting assistant director in charge, said in the press release. “The FBI is determined...
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