EU official accused of leaking trade secrets to Chinese businessmen
A top trade official with the European Commission has been accused by the Sunday Times of leaking secrets to Chinese businessmen in return for future financial considerations, media outlets reported Sunday.
“Fritz-Harald Wenig, one of the European Union’s most senior trade officials, is said to have passed confidential information on import levies and market access to Sunday Times journalists posing as lobbyist middlemen for Chinese companies,” The Telegraph reported. “While no payments were made to Mr. Wenig, he is accused of leaking the names of two Chinese companies likely to get special status if the EU imposes a protective import tariff barrier against candles made in China. He is also alleged to have handed over information detailing new EU levies on cheap Chinese shoes, measures that have not yet been agreed by the commission.”
That information, the Sunday Times reported, is worth millions of dollars, though it also said that Wenig said during the discussion he would do nothing illegal. After being told about the sting, Wenig said that the information he revealed was “semi-public,” according to the newspaper.
The EU is investigating the newspaper’s claims. One of the commission’s responsibilities is regulating imports that are considered to be sold at less than costs.
EU official accused of leaking trade secrets to Chinese businessmen
