Belgium holds researcher over GaN espionage case
A statement issued by Belgium’s Federal Prosecutor’s Office, has revealed that a 52-year-old man born in Beijing, and holding Belgian and Chinese nationality, is under investigation for suspected theft of IP and trade secrets relating to GaN chip production from the Belgian chipmaker BelGaN.
The person, who is accused of transferring the IP to China, is in pre-trial detention at Oudenaarde prison. He was arrested at Zaventem National Airport on the 11th May 2026, just before his return flight to Beijing.
The arrest took place as part of an investigation being conducted by the East Flanders Federal Judicial Police into, amongst other things, espionage, participation in a criminal organisation, misuse of company assets and the unlawful disclosure of company secrets. The investigation forms part of the insolvency case relating to a BelGaN formerly based in Oudenaarde, which was declared bankrupt on 31 July 2024.
The press statement says they are indications that the person concerned, who held a senior research position within BelGaN, was simultaneously acting as a director of a Chinese company engaged in a similar manufacturing activity, which had been established a few months after he joined the company and was financed by a Chinese investment fund.
In the course of the investigation, several searches have already been carried out for data storage devices and electronic communications, which have been seized and are currently being analysed. To this day, a second suspect is still being searched for in connection with this case.
