Qin is alleged to have exported hydrophones to Northwestern Polytechnical University, a Chinese military research institute
The head of a company that distributes marine-related products was arrested on Thursday on US charges that he conspired with an entity affiliated with China’s armed forces to export devices that could be used in anti-submarine warfare.
Qin Shuren, a Chinese national living in Wellesley, Massachusetts, was charged in a criminal complaint filed in federal court in Boston with visa fraud and conspiring to commit violations of US export regulations.
Prosecutors said the 41-year-old was arrested on Thursday and would make his first court appearance on Friday.
A lawyer for Qin did not respond to a request for comment.
According to the complaint, Qin, a lawful permanent resident of the United States since 2014, runs several China-based companies that import goods from the United States and Europe with applications in underwater or marine technologies.
Among those companies is LinkOcean Technologies, whose clients include Chinese research institutes and the naval warfare branch of the People’s Liberation Army, the complaint said.
