Chinese company bought out insurer of FBI and CIA agents, gaining access to their data - BBC
Kyiv • UNN
Wright USA, an insurance company that insured FBI and CIA agents, was acquired by China's Fosun Group. This gave it access to the personal data of US secret service employees.
Wright USA, an insurance company specializing in selling liability insurance to FBI and CIA agents, was acquired by Fosun Group, a private company that may have close ties to China's leadership. This is reported by UNN with reference to BBC.
Details
The acquisition of the insurance company was first reported in 2015-2016: Wright USA had access to the personal data of many secret service agents and US intelligence personnel. This was reported by Jeff Stein, an experienced journalist covering US intelligence activities.
However, the sale of this company is not an isolated case: Chinese state funds are flowing into wealthy countries, buying up assets in the US, Europe, the Middle East, and Australia.
Over the past two decades, China has become the world's largest foreign investor, giving it the ability to dominate sensitive industries, secret areas, and key technologies. Beijing considers the details of its spending abroad (how much money it spends and where it is spent) a state secret
Jeff Stein's article was published in Newsweek. Washington reacted quickly: an investigation was launched by the US Treasury Department's investment oversight division, the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS). The company was soon sold back to Americans, the BBC notes.
Recall
Chinese company Shandong Yulong Petrochemical is increasing imports of Russian oil. This is being done to compensate for supply disruptions after the UK imposed sanctions on the plant for purchasing Russian oil.