NYPD officer arrested on charges of spying for China


A New York City police officer was arrested after allegedly spying on China's behalf for the past six years.
Baimadajie Angwang, 33, who worked as a community affairs liaison in Queens, spied on Tibetans living in the U.S. and reported back to New York's Chinese consulate, a criminal complaint unsealed Monday alleges. The Eastern District of New York federal court in Brooklyn charged Angwang with acting as an illegal foreign agent, as well as counts of wire fraud, making false statements, and obstruction.
Angwang was born in China and has Tibetan ancestry, and received asylum in the U.S. because he claimed he was persecuted for his ethnicity. But he still "maintained a relationship" with People's Republic of China officials at the consulate, including one whose department was "responsible for ... neutralizing sources of potential opposition to the policies and authority of the PRC," the complaint says. After first connecting with this member of the "China Association for Preservation and Development of Tibetan Culture" in 2014, Angwang "reported on the activities of ethnic Tibetans," the complaint continues. He also allegedly connected consulate officials to senior NYPD officials.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
As for the allegations of wire fraud, investigators found Angwang sent $100,000 to his brother in China, as well as $50,000 to another account in China. Angwang's NYPD job paid about $50,000 a year.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Kathryn is a graduate of Syracuse University, with degrees in magazine journalism and information technology, along with hours to earn another degree after working at SU's independent paper The Daily Orange. She's currently recovering from a horse addiction while living in New York City, and likes to share her extremely dry sense of humor on Twitter.
-
The best shows to see at Edinburgh Fringe 2025
The Week Recommends The world's biggest arts festival is back with an incredible line-up
-
Wonsan-Kalma: North Korea's new 'mammoth' beach resort
Under the Radar Pyongyang wants to boost tourism but there won't be many foreign visitors to Kim Jong Un's 'pet project'
-
The 5 best TV reboots of all time
The Week Recommends Finding an entirely new cast to play beloved characters is harder than it looks
-
Australian woman found guilty of mushroom murders
speed read Erin Patterson murdered three of her ex-husband's relatives by serving them toxic death cap mushrooms
-
Combs convicted on 2 of 5 charges, denied bail
Speed Read Sean 'Diddy' Combs was acquitted of the more serious charges of racketeering and sex trafficking
-
Sniper kills 2 Idaho firefighters in ambush
Speed Read A man started a wildfire, then fired a rifle at first responders when they arrived
-
Weinstein convicted of sex crime in retrial
Speed Read The New York jury delivered a mixed and partial verdict at the disgraced Hollywood producer's retrial
-
'King of the Hill' actor shot dead outside home
speed read Jonathan Joss was fatally shot by a neighbor who was 'yelling violent homophobic slurs,' says his husband
-
DOJ, Boulder police outline attacker's confession
speed read Mohamed Sabry Soliman planned the attack for a year and 'wanted them all to die'
-
Assailant burns Jewish pedestrians in Boulder
speed read Eight people from the Jewish group were hospitalized after a man threw Molotov cocktails in a 'targeted act of violence'
-
Driver rams van into crowd at Liverpool FC parade
speed read 27 people were hospitalized following the attack