Missing whistleblower who exposed Bidens hit with federal charges of being China agent

Gal Luft, the whistleblower responsible for exposing US President Joe Biden's son Hunter Biden of corruption, has been charged by the Department of Justice (DoJ). The federal prosecutors in New York charged Luft for acting as an "unregistered agent of China", with the GOP lawmakers terming it a pressure tactic.

Luft, a US-Israeli citizen, headed the Institute for the Analysis of Global Security, a Maryland-based think tank and had a pivotal role in the Hunter Biden laptop probe. Apart from accusing him of acting as a Chinese mole, the 58-pageindictment unsealed on Monday stated Luft was involved inarms trafficking and violated sanctionsby brokering the sale of Chinese-made weapons and Iranian oil to China.

“As alleged, Gal Luft, a dual US-Israeli citizen and co-head of a Maryland think tank, engaged in multiple, serious criminal schemes. He subverted foreign agent registration laws in the United States to seek to promote Chinese policies by acting through a former high-ranking US Government official," saidDamian Williams,US attorney for the Southern District of New York.

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"He acted as a broker in deals for dangerous weapons and Iranian oil, and he told multiple lies about his crimes to law enforcement," headded.

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The prosecutors said they were working "vigorously"with law enforcement partners to detect and hold the likes of Luft answerable for attempting to "perpetrate malign foreign influence campaigns here in the US".

The indictment stated that Luft agreed to letformer Hong Kong official Patrick Ho send $350,000 each year to his think tank in 2015. In return, Luft agreed to "recruit and educate" a former high-ranking US official to make public statements in the interest of China.

What did Luft claim?

Last week, the New York Post published a video wherein Luft said that in 2019 he provided evidence to the DoJ and FBI officials on Hunter Biden's shady dealings but since had become a scapegoat.

“I, who volunteered to inform the US government about a potential security breach and about compromising information about a man vying to be the next president, am now being hunted by the very same people who I informed — and may have to live on the run for the rest of my life,” said Luft from an undisclosed location.

Luft in his expose had claimed that the state-controlled energy companyChina Energy Fund Committee (CEFC) paid Hunter Biden $100,000 a month and$65,000 to first brother Jim Biden. In exchange, the company got the Bidens FBI connections and used the family name to promote China's highly-ambitions Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) across the globe. Reportedly, the money was funnelled throughRob Walker, a Biden family associate.

Notably, Luft was arrested in Cyprus in February this year but managed to flee after being released on bail. He remains at large and the DoJ is seeking information on his whereabouts.

"He's got a wealth of information. But they never followed up on that meeting.Instead, they arrested him in Cyprus to silence him," saidRepublican Senator Ron Johnson, accusing the government of cover-up.

(With inputs from agencies)

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