A former CIA operative sentenced to ten years in prison for espionage on behalf of China

An ex-agent of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) has been sentenced to ten years in prison for espionage in favor of China, announced the US Department of Justice. Alexander Yuk Ching Ma, 71, pleaded guilty in May to “conspiracy to gather and deliver national defense information” to China to avoid risking a life sentence.

Born in Hong Kong, Alexander Yuk Ching Ma moved to Honolulu in 1968 and became a US citizen in 1975. He worked at the CIA from 1982 to 1989 and was approached by Chinese services in 2001 to pass on classified information. He was recruited by the FBI in Hawaii despite his ties to Chinese intelligence and worked part-time from August 2004 to October 2012.

Ma regularly copied, photographed, and stole classified documents, taking them on trips to China in exchange for cash and expensive gifts. He was arrested in August 2020 after admitting to an undercover FBI agent his role in transmitting confidential information to Chinese security services. The FBI agent emphasized that justice will be served to those engaging in similar activities in the future. Ma’s brother, who also worked for the CIA, was not prosecuted due to Alzheimer’s symptoms and has since passed away.