Ex-CIA officer jailed for 10 years as a spy for China

Hamilton Nwosa
Writer

Ad

Nsukka Catholic Diocese Grieves Loss of Bishop Emeritus Francis Okobo at 89

By Abiola Olawale The Catholic community in Nsukka, Enugu State has been engulfed by tears following the passing of Most Rev. Dr. Francis Emmanuel Ogbonna Okobo, Bishop Emeritus of the Nsukka Catholic Diocese. It was gathered that Okobo passed away on Friday, August 29, 2025, at the age of 89. The revered cleric, who served…

Anticipation as Tottenham Accelerates Transfer Chase for Atalanta’s Ademola Lookman

By Abiola Olawale English football club, Tottenham Hotspur is reportedly intensifying negotiations to sign Atalanta’s star forward Ademola Lookman as the summer transfer window approaches its September 1 deadline. It was gathered that Lookman, a 27-year-old Nigerian international, has reportedly caught the eye of Tottenham. Lookman is also reportedly eager to return to the Premier…

Oil Prices Aren’t Likely To Rise Anytime Soon

Analysts surveyed by Reuters expect Brent Crude to average $67.65 per barrel and WTI Crude to average $64.65 per barrel this year, with slight adjustments from previous forecasts. Factors contributing to the subdued oil price outlook include rising supply from OPEC+ and non-OPEC+ producers, slowing demand growth post-summer, and uncertainties from U.S. trade policies. Major…

Ad

A former CIA officer has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for spying for the Chinese government.

Alexander Yuk Ching Ma, 71, was arrested in August 2020 after admitting to an undercover FBI agent that he sold US secrets to China.

Ma, a naturalised US citizen born in Hong Kong, worked for the CIA from 1982 to 1989.

He went on to work for the FBI later in his career.

Part of his plea agreement states that he must co-operate with prosecutors “for the rest of his life, including by submitting to debriefings by US government agencies.

The plea deal requires him to submit to polygraph tests during those debriefings, according to the Associated Press news agency.

At a sentencing hearing on Wednesday, lawyers for the US government told the court that he has been co-operative and has already taken part in multiple interview sessions with government agents.”

Officials say Ma collaborated with a relative, who was also a CIA agent, to supply secrets to intelligence officers employed by the Shanghai State Security Bureau.

One meeting in Hong Kong was recorded on video and shows Ma counting $50,000 (£38,000) in cash for the secrets they shared, federal prosecutors say.

While living in Hawaii in 2004, he took a job at the FBI’s Honolulu office as a contract linguist.

The FBI, already aware of his espionage activities, “hired Ma as part of a ruse to monitor and investigate his activities and contacts,” prosecutors said on Wednesday.

According to the AP, the unnamed collaborator was Ma’s brother, who died before he could be prosecuted.

At a court in Hawaii on Wednesday Ma was jailed for 10 years, as agreed with prosecutors, followed by five years of supervised release.

“Let it be a message to anyone else thinking of doing the same,” FBI Honolulu Special Agent-in-Charge Steven Merrill said in a statement, according to the AP.

“No matter how long it takes or how much time passes, you will be brought to justice.”

Ad

X whatsapp